Donald Trump did not commit to a definitive timeline for
the war in Iran, saying in a Friday interview that the fighting would end when
he feels it “in my bones.”
Trump told Fox News Radio that he didn’t think the war “would be long.” But he suggested that only he will know when it will be over, saying the conflict will end “when I feel it, feel it in my bones.”
The Trump administration has sent mixed signals on the
length of the war, with senior administration officials suggesting at times
that the war could last anywhere from days to months. Trump on Friday said he
expected the conflict to end soon but added that it could also continue
indefinitely if necessary. The president dismissed reports that the U.S. was
facing a munitions shortage.
“Nobody has the technology or the weapons that we have,”
Trump told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade. “We’re way ahead of schedule. Way ahead.”
He later said the U.S. had “virtually unlimited ammunition. We’re using it,
we’re using it. We can go forever.”
While the president suggested the decision to end the war
will ultimately be based on his personal judgment, he said he was consulting
with senior advisers, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of
State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. “Operation Epic Fury will
continue until President Trump, as Commander-in-Chief, determines that the
goals of Operation Epic Fury, including for Iran to no longer pose a military
threat, have been fully realized,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in
a statement when asked for comment.
Earlier on Friday, Hegseth suggested
victory was a certainty and attacked the press for what he viewed as
unfriendly media coverage about the war. Trump also sought to downplay any
economic ramifications of the conflict, saying the U.S. economy was the
greatest in the world and would “bounce right back, so fast.”
The Trump administration has sought to quell concerns
over rising oil and gas prices after U.S.-Israeli military action against Iran
began in February. The war triggered the largest
oil supply disruption in history and cost
$11 billion in its first week, according to the Pentagon. The
president’s messaging around the run-up in crude prices has caused a
potential public
relations nightmare for the oil industry. “The United States is the
largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a
lot of money,” Trump wrote
Wednesday on Truth Social.
-Politico


No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.