President Donald Trump said the U.S.-Iran war is “very close” to an end as hostilities ease amid a two-week ceasefire agreement.
“I think it’s close to over, yeah. I view it as very close to being over,” Trump told FOX Business anchor Maria Bartiromo in an interview that will air on “Mornings with Maria” on Wednesday.
The president’s comments come as peace talks between U.S. officials and Iranian negotiators are reportedly expected to restart Thursday following stalled weekend talks in Pakistan.
On Monday, Trump instituted a naval blockade of all Iranian ports, marking a fresh intensification of the conflict after the U.S. agreed to stop bombing Iran last week.
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Despite Trump saying the war is nearing an end, he also said the U.S. is not done.
“If I pulled up stakes right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country. And we’re not finished,” he said. “We’ll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal very badly.”
Vice President JD Vance and senior White House officials held negotiations with Iranian officials over the weekend in Pakistan regarding Tehran’s nuclear program and enrichment plans.
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The talks reportedly produced no breakthrough, although Vance said Monday “a lot of progress” was made and that Iran holds the deciding hand in what comes next in the conflict.
“The ball is very much in their court,” Vance told “Special Report.” “You ask what happens next, I think the Iranians are going to determine what happens next.”
The Iran war began Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and effectively disfiguring the Islamic regime.
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President Trump has boasted about the degradation of Iranian leadership and military capacities, frequently declaring that U.S. forces have “decimated” Tehran’s military capabilities.
Thirteen U.S. service members and thousands across the Middle East have been killed in the conflict.
Trump justified his entrance into the Middle East conflict, telling “Mornings with Maria” it was necessary to disarm Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
“I had to divert because if I didn’t do that, right now, you’d have Iran with a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “And if they had a nuclear weapon, you’d be calling everybody over there ‘sir,’ and you don’t want to do that.”
Tune in to “Mornings with Maria” on FOX Business Wednesday at 6 am ET to see the full interview with President Trump.
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