Donald Trump said the war with Iran will end ‘soon’ as the global economy reels from soaring oil prices triggered by the conflict.
‘Little this and that… Any time I want it to end, it will end,’ Trump said in a brief phone call with Axios on Wednesday.
‘The war is going great. We are way ahead of the timetable. We have done more damage than we thought possible, even in the original six-week period.’
As the president claims his war goals in the Middle East are largely accomplished, Israeli and US officials say they are preparing to continue striking Iran for at least two more weeks.
Seven US service members have been killed after Donald Trump launched strikes against Iran on February 28.
The human toll comes amid mounting concerns over the financial cost, the Pentagon having burned through $5.6 billion worth of munitions in the first two days of the war.
Gas prices have rocketed to an average of $3.6 per gallon from $2.9 before the war began, as oil prices hit levels not seen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Trump said earlier this week that he was hoping for a swift end to the war following a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump told reporters US forces are ‘very far ahead of schedule’, claiming Iran’s military has effectively been destroyed.
Trump said the war with Iran will end ‘soon’ as the global economy reels from soaring oil prices triggered by the conflict
Gas prices have rocketed to an average of $3.6 per gallon from $2.9 before the war began, as oil prices hit levels not seen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022
The human toll comes amid mounting concerns over the financial cost, the Pentagon having burned through $5.6 billion worth of munitions in the first two days of the war
Trump also noted that the Iranian regime must pay for past aggression towards the US and Gulf nation allies.
‘They were after the rest of the Middle East. They are paying for 47 years of death and destruction they caused. This is payback. They will not get off that easy,’ Trump said.
The President also claimed that the military had destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying boats intended to disrupt oil shipments moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
The closure of the Hormuz, a narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, has driven up oil prices. A fifth of global oil flows through the narrow strait.
Iran has closed the transit route by launching drone and missile attacks as retaliatory strikes against the US and Gulf allies since the start of the war.
More Americans are also beginning to feel the cost of the war in their everyday lives.
Higher gas prices can increase the cost of transporting goods and lead to higher prices for everything from groceries to consumer products.
As a result of the global oil crisis, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday that member countries had released 400 million oil barrels from their reserves in order to ease soaring prices.
US and Israeli airstrikes have battered Iran’s capital of Tehran since the start of ‘Operation Epic Fury’
Trump has previously warned the Islamic regime not to disrupt the flow of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz
An attack on the Thailand-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree from an ‘unknown projectile’ happened 11 nautical miles north of Oman
Meanwhile, three commercial ships for Saudi Arabia were attacked as they moved through the waterway this week.
An attack on the Thailand-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree from an ‘unknown projectile’ happened 11 nautical miles north of Oman and resulted in a fire onboard the ship.
Iran today confirmed it had attacked the Mayuree Naree, adding: ‘The American aggressors and their partners have no right to pass.’
Authorities are searching for three missing crew members from the ship after 20 were rescued by the Omani navy.
Trump has previously warned the Islamic regime not to disrupt the flow of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, adding: ‘The Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before’.
