Trump refuses to declare victory in Iran war: ‘We’ve done damage’
President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that while U.S. forces have “decimated” Iran’s military infrastructure, he is not yet prepared to declare a formal victory.
“There’s no reason to,” Trump told The Hill while aboard Air Force One. “I just say they’re decimated. I think that we’ve done damage to them.”
“If we left right now, it would take them 10 years and more to rebuild, but I’m still not declaring it,” Trump continued.
Trump said on Saturday via Truth Social that U.S. operations are “totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily, economically, and otherwise.”
On Friday, the president announced that Kharg Island, Iran’s hub for oil exports, was “obliterated.”
“Moments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island...,” Trump said on X . “Iran has NO ability to defend anything that we want to attack — There is nothing they can do about it!"
The administration’s decision to attack Kharg Island comes after Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said his country will block the Strait of Hormuz , a narrow channel through which 20% of the world’s oil passes.
Last week, global crude oil prices surged past $100 per barrel, causing a spike in prices at the gas pump.
On Monday, the cost for crude oil dropped more than 3% to a little more than $95 per barrel, halting a three-day rally of 17.4%, after a Pakistani oil tanker and two LPG vessels successfully crossed the chokepoint over the weekend, Trading Economics reported.
India is negotiating to move six more vessels, while the U.S. has allowed Iranian tankers to transport, helping maintain global supply by exporting roughly 1.5 million barrels per day.
Trump said during an interview with The Financial Times late Sunday that he is urging NATO, China and other nations to send warships to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.
The president added that the U.S. would “remember” if NATO counterparts didn’t help.
“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” Trump told The Financial Times. “If there’s no response, or if it’s a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.”
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