WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday that the Iran war is “effectively over” from a military standpoint, while indicating that the United States will continue isolating Tehran economically. That pressure includes a naval blockade and a newly announced initiative aimed at cutting off Iran’s overland trade routes.
“Iran militarily is effectively over,” Trump told reporters during a briefing alongside UFC CEO Dana White.
“We’re just keeping it the status quo, and we’re doing that really at the behest of countries that are their neighbors. But it’s a failing country. It’s got 301% inflation. It’s got problems like you don’t want to even think about.”
Trump said he decided against resuming strikes on Iran after speaking with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The conversation came after Trump announced Operation Iron Gate, a new effort to sever Iran’s land links with neighboring countries.
“I had an excellent conversation with Sheik Mohammed,” Trump said.
“Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and others would prefer the status quo that we remain as is. In other words, a continuation of the greatest naval blockade in the history of our country, probably in the history of the world,” he said, adding that the blockade would be coupled with Operation Iron Gate.
NEXT UP: Father of Missing DoorDash Driver Shares Son’s Final Messages
“So you have land and sea, total lockdown. I’ve agreed that Iran cannot have, and everybody’s agreed, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, and that’s a non-negotiable point. They understand that. They accept that. They don’t admit that they accept it, and they will tell you that they don’t accept it, but they accept it 100%.”
Trump said the United States was not withdrawing its military presence from the region. He added that American forces are “fully locked and loaded” should there be “any change with respect to developments in the Middle East.”
“We don’t think there’s going to be any reason to use it. However, it’s going very well. You know, we haven’t lost a soldier in six months,” he said.
Asked why he would not simply declare the conflict over, Trump said the United States had “some great allies there” and needed to ensure they were not harmed.
“They are right now a lot safer than they were six months ago, because Iran’s been very much decapitated,” Trump said.
“But they’re still the bully of the Middle East a little bit, and I see that we want to make sure they’re okay. We want to make sure it’s a long-term solution, not just a short term; they’ll never have a nuclear weapon. But we have to make sure that’s a long term. So it’s ending quickly. But we want to take care of people that have been very good to us over the years.”