Trending
US President Donald Trump has again predicted a swift end to the war with Iran, saying oil prices would fall sharply once the conflict concludes. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, however, has warned that military action will not force Tehran into submission.
“The Iran war will end very soon … Soon, as they want it to end,” Trump told reporters in Montana. “They’ll never have a nuclear weapon, and oil prices will drop like a rock.”
According to Anadolu Agency, Trump also expressed uncertainty about which Iranian officials Washington was negotiating with.
“They don’t have a navy. They don’t have an air force. Their army is decimated. Their leaders are gone,” Trump said. “I should have probably left their leaders because I don’t know who the hell we’re negotiating with.”
Trump described Iran as “the bully of the Middle East” and claimed that its military power had significantly weakened.
He also claimed that US strikes had destroyed Iran’s naval fleet and rendered its military aircraft unusable. Trump said Iran had 159 ships and asserted that none remained operational. He further claimed that Iranian fighter jets had been destroyed on their runways. These military claims were not independently verified in the supplied report.
In Tehran, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that military action could not force a country into submission.
Pakistan to Chair IMF and World Bank Boards in 2027 for First Time Since 1953
Pezeshkian called for greater national unity, saying Iran “must find a way to strengthen national cohesion and unity”.
He also described the country as facing its most intense blockade since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He accused Washington of making life increasingly difficult for Iranians in an effort to provoke public protests.
“Over the 48 years since the Revolution, we have never faced such intense blockade, war and difficulties as we are facing now,” Pezeshkian said in a speech broadcast by Iranian state television.
He alleged that Washington wanted to fuel public anger and trigger unrest to achieve its political objectives.
Pezeshkian said the United States was focusing on making “the people become upset and face difficulties, and then for social protests to emerge so that they can achieve their sinister objectives”.
Meanwhile, the United States is considering using the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB), widely known as the “Mother of All Bombs”, against Iran if Trump decides to resume combat, CNN reported on Thursday.
According to CNN, US military planners have considered deploying the weapon against Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites. The report cited officials familiar with the plans.
“The MOAB is a massive information operation type weapon that is great for huge area clearance but not much else,” a source familiar with the plans told CNN. “It is definitely not designed as a deep penetration warhead.”
The reported contingency planning comes as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict remain stalled. Washington has also shifted some attention towards economic pressure after scaling back military operations in recent weeks, according to the supplied report.
However, officials have reportedly questioned whether the MOAB could achieve the intended objectives, particularly against suspected underground nuclear facilities in Iran.
The weapon’s potential use has also raised concerns about civilian casualties because of its large blast radius.
The conflict is also creating political and economic challenges for Trump ahead of November’s US midterm elections.
The supplied report says opinion polls indicate that opposition to the war, along with rising fuel and other prices, is hurting Trump’s Republican Party.
Trump has continued to predict that the conflict will end soon and that oil prices will fall afterwards. However, his remarks have not established a timeline for an end to hostilities, while Pezeshkian’s comments signal Tehran’s continued rejection of military pressure as a means of securing its submission.
[…] Trump Predicts Iran War Will End Soon as Tehran Rejects Pressure […]