Trump says US could end war in Iran in 2 to 3 weeks
US President Donald Trump speaks after signing an executive order in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
Photo: AFP President Donald Trump said on Tuesday 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,” he said.
Trump also said the US “will not have anything to do with” what happens in the Strait of Hormuz, instead telling reporters that the responsibility for keeping the vital waterway open will rest with countries that rely on it.
The president said there’s “no reason for us to do this”. “That’s not for us.
That’ll be for France.
That’ll be for whoever’s using the strait,” Trump said.
The president had expressed frustration earlier on Tuesday with allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the US war effort, telling them to “go get your own oil” as the conflict with Iran and its closure of the strait sent average US gas prices rocketing.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
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