President Donald Trump said yesterday that the US could end its military campaign against Iran within two to three weeks.
“We’ll be leaving very soon,” he told reporters in the White House’s Oval Office, adding that the exit could take place “within two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three.”
The declaration was Trump’s clearest to date that he intends to soon end a month-long war that has reordered the Middle East, disrupted global energy markets and changed the trajectory of the Republican’s presidency.
Trump added that Tehran does not have to make a deal with Washington to end the conflict.
“Iran doesn’t have to make a deal, no,” he said when asked if successful diplomacy was a prerequisite to the US winding down the conflict.
“No, they don’t have to make a deal with me.”
Instead, Trump said, the requirement for winding down the operation was that Iran be “put into the stone ages,” without the ability to soon acquire a nuclear weapon. “Then we’ll leave.”
Earlier in remarks to The New York Post, Trump said, “I think the war with Iran will end soon,” adding that other countries could reopen the Strait of Hormuz themselves.
He also asserted that US strikes had ‘completely destroyed’ Iran’s capabilities, but noted that ‘more work lies ahead’ to halt Iranian attacks.
“When we leave, the Strait of Hormuz will reopen automatically.”
In a separate interview with CBS, Trump said his administration would decide how to deal with Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, indicating retrieving it would be complex and time-consuming.
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