US President Donald Trump has declared the war against Iran is "militarily effectively over", signalling that a fresh wave of large-scale strikes is unlikely despite weeks of speculation about renewed bombing campaigns following last week's midterm elections.
Trump made the remarks at a snap news conference on Monday (US time), where he was joined by Ultimate Fighting Championship boss Dana White. The comments came shortly after the president held a meeting at the White House with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, a key American partner in the region.
Trump's words on the Iran war
"Iran, militarily, is effectively over," Trump told reporters. "We're just keeping it the status quo. We're doing that really at the behest of countries that are their neighbours."
Trump painted a bleak picture of Iran's current condition, claiming the country was burdened by 301 per cent inflation and was no longer paying its military or Revolutionary Guard forces. He also said Iran's navy and air force had been destroyed, though he offered no independent evidence to support those specific figures.
"It's a failing country," he said. "They're not paying their military, they're not paying their [Revolutionary] Guard, their navy is gone, their air force is gone."
While stopping short of ruling out further action entirely, Trump said the US remained prepared if circumstances changed. "I don't guarantee anything. But if we do have to go back in, we are locked and loaded and ready to go," he said, adding that the conflict had its roots in 1979 and was not started by the United States.
Dispelling talk of a 'final blow'
Monday's statements were notably more definitive than Trump's previous comments on the subject and appeared designed to put to rest suggestions that a so-called "final blow" against Iran was under active consideration. While Trump has made similar declarations across various interviews and press appearances, observers noted this latest iteration went further in ruling out imminent escalation.
In a television interview that aired the day before the press conference, Trump acknowledged the US could strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain if necessary, but said there had been "very little activity there." He added that the site, along with three other Iranian nuclear locations bombed by the US last year, remained under constant surveillance. "It would be done in one hour, it would be taken care of," he said.
Beyond limited strikes in the Strait of Hormuz, there has been little active military engagement in the conflict for months. Oil shipments through the strait have increased under US Navy protection, but a long-term agreement guaranteeing safe, toll-free passage without the threat of fire from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps remains elusive.
Midterm fallout and Hegseth pressure
Trump also used Monday's press conference to defend his embattled Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who now faces an impeachment resolution in Congress. The president's appearance came days after Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, a result Trump himself linked in part to the unpopular war.
"They didn't like that [the price of] gasoline went up," Trump said. "There's a great dislike, incredibly, for Israel... You have that, you have the war itself, you have the gas prices."
The acknowledgement that the Iran conflict weighed on voters adds further pressure to an administration already navigating significant congressional pushback. For background on the broader context of this period, see the Second presidency of Donald Trump.
Trump concluded on an optimistic note, insisting that "at the conclusion of the military engagement, the American people and the people of the world will be far safer and more secure than they've been in many, many years." Whether Monday's declaration marks a genuine turning point or simply another entry in a long series of similar statements remains to be seen, but for now the White House appears set on holding the current line rather than pressing for further military action.
