Trump Hints at Iran Peace Plan Following Secretive Chat with Putin

Donald Trump hinted at a potential resolution to the conflict with Iran shortly after engaging in an enigmatic conversation with Vladimir Putin.

Speaking to journalists, Trump claimed that U.S. military operations were ahead of schedule, asserting that Iran’s armed forces had been significantly weakened.

“I believe the conflict is nearly over,” Trump shared with CBS News. “Their navy, communication systems, and air force are virtually non-existent… The end is in sight.”

According to the Kremlin, Trump’s statements followed Putin’s suggestion of a swift conclusion to the war during their phone call. The conversation also touched on the ongoing situation in Ukraine and the oil economy in Venezuela.

Following Trump’s comments, the stock market rebounded from a sharp downturn, with US oil prices dropping from $91 to $86 per barrel, after he mentioned the possibility of taking control of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Dow closed up 200 points after dropping nearly 900 points at its session low, while the S&P jumped 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq rebounded to 1.4 percent after crashing by as much as 1.5 percent. 

Trump also claimed Iran’s missile and drone capabilities had been neutralized by US strikes. Iran launched retaliatory attacks on US bases and other Gulf nations after the death of its supreme leader, killing seven American troops. 

‘Their missiles are down to a scatter. Their drones are being blown up all over the place, including their manufacturing of drones,’ Trump added. 

Donald Trump suggested his war with Iran could soon come to an end just hours after completing a mysterious phone call with Vladimir Putin 

Following Trump’s remarks, the stock market rallied after a tumultuous trading day

A US Air Force Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber jet lands on the runway, beyond a USAF Rockwell B-1 Lancer bomber jet, at RAF Fairford in south west England on March 9,

‘If you look, they have nothing left. There’s nothing left in a military sense.’

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, has sent oil prices skyrocketing. A fifth of global oil flows through the narrow strait.

Americans are already feeling the pinch, with gasoline prices averaging $3.4 per gallon, up from $2.9 before the war, according to AAA. 

Iran has strangled the strait by launching drone and missile attacks at America’s Arab allies.

Trump said he is ‘thinking about taking it over’ as oil tankers remain stuck in the Persian Gulf. 

Trump told a Republican members conference in Doral this afternoon that he expected the conflict to be over soon – after last week warning it could run beyond its original four-week timescale.

‘We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some evil. I think you’ll see it’s going to be a short term excursion,’ Trump said. ‘How good is our military, right? Amazing. Short term. Short term.’

Trump told the New York Post he had a blunt message for Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei: ‘I have no message for him. None, whatsoever.’ 

A smoke cloud erupts from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on March 9

Trump said he was ‘not happy with’ Khamenei as the Islamic regime’s new dictator

Trump said he was ‘not happy with’ Khamenei as the Islamic regime’s new dictator. 

When asked what he would do to the Islamic leader, Trump responded: ‘Not going to tell you…Not going to tell you. I’m not happy with him.’ 

Trump went further by telling close aides he would support killing Iran’s new supreme leader if he refuses to abandon the country’s nuclear program.

Mojtaba, 56, the second son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was appointed by the regime’s 88-person assembly on Sunday and announced as his successor, despite previous opposition from his father.  

The ‘vengeful’ hardline cleric is already marked for assassination by Israel, which vowed to ‘eliminate’ whoever succeeded the slain Ayatollah and killed Mojtaba’s wife Zahra Haddad-Adel in strikes on the first day of the conflict. 

Mojtaba is described as a hardline fundamentalist with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The President has previously vowed that he would kill any successor of Iran’s leadership who assumed power without his permission.

Trump also backed off his earlier threat to send US troops to destroy Iran’s uranium stockpile at a secret nuclear facility near Tehran. 

A smoke cloud erupts from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on March 9

A fire burns at the site of a collapsed building following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on March 9

A US Air Force Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber jet taxis on the runway after landing at RAF Fairford in south west England on March 9

An Israeli Merkava main battle tank moves past armoured personnel carriers (APCs) deployed at a position in the upper Galilee in northern Israel near the Lebanon border on March 9

‘We haven’t made any decision on that. We’re nowhere near it,’ Trump said of deploying ground troops to the underground Uranium stockpile in Isfahan.

The remarks directly contradict earlier statements in which he said he was considering deploying soldiers as the war spiraled across the Middle East. 

‘I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t think it’s an appropriate question. You know, I’m not going to answer it. Could there be? Possible, for very good reason,’ Trump said.

A new Daily Mail/J.L. Partners poll puts Trump’s approval at 44 percent, down four points since last week and the lowest recorded in Daily Mail tracking to date.