Washington (GNP): United States (US) President Donald Trump has again predicted a quick end to the war with Iran, saying oil prices will fall sharply once the conflict is over. His remarks came as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that military pressure cannot push his country into submission.
Speaking to reporters in Montana, Trump said the war would end very soon and that Iran would never obtain a nuclear weapon. He added that oil prices would drop dramatically after the fighting stops, linking the end of the conflict directly to relief at the pump.
Trump also admitted he was unsure who the US was negotiating with in Tehran. He argued that Iran’s leadership had been so badly weakened that he did not know which officials held authority, and he described the country as a former bully of the Middle East that was no longer as powerful as before.
To support that view, he claimed US strikes had destroyed Iran’s navy and left its military aircraft unusable. He said Iran had 159 ships and that none remained operational, and he added that its fighter jets had been destroyed on the runways. These assertions were made by Trump himself and were not independently verified in his remarks.
Tehran presented a very different picture. In a speech broadcast by state television, Pezeshkian said Iran was facing the most intense blockade, war and hardship since the 1979 Revolution, and he urged the country to strengthen national unity.
He accused Washington of deliberately making life harder for ordinary Iranians in order to fuel public anger. According to Pezeshkian, the aim is to provoke social protests that would help the US achieve what he called its sinister objectives.
The exchange comes at a sensitive moment for Trump at home. He is trying to lift his low approval ratings ahead of the November midterm elections, and polls indicate that the unpopular war, along with the fuel and other price rises it has caused, is hurting the Republican Party.
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Diplomacy has offered little relief so far. Efforts to end the conflict have been stuck at an impasse since the summer, and Washington has recently scaled back military operations in favour of economic pressure on Iran.
Even so, military options remain on the table. A media report on Thursday said the US is considering the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb, widely known as the “Mother Of All Bombs”, should Trump decide to renew combat in the deadlocked war. Officials familiar with the matter said the weapon could be aimed at Iranian energy infrastructure and nuclear sites.
Doubts surround that plan, however. A source familiar with the discussions said the bomb is suited to clearing large areas rather than penetrating deep targets, and officials have questioned whether it could destroy suspected underground nuclear facilities. Concerns have also been raised about possible civilian casualties from such a large weapon.
Masoud Pezeshkian said, “Iran has never faced such intense blockade, war and hardship since the Revolution.”
Managing Editor at Global News Pakistan (GNP), with a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Riphah International University, graduated with a Gold Medal. Reach out at sabahtareengnp@gmail.com
