U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that while he did see an eventual end to the Iran war, it was unlikely to conclude this week.
Separately, Trump in a social media post threatened Iran over doing "anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz," warning that the country will be hit "twenty times harder."
"We will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them," Trump said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard responded to Trump’s comments on Tuesday, stating that they, not the U.S., will determine when the war will end.
Speaking during a press conference at his Doral golf resort in Florida earlier in the day, Trump said the conflict with Iran was moving ahead of schedule, and that the conflict will be over “very soon.”
But he answered negatively when a reporter asked whether the conflict will end this week.
Trump also said that the U.S. will waive certain oil-related sanctions to ensure adequate supply and lower prices, as the Iran conflict sparked disruptions in global supplies.
Trump had referred to the war with Iran as a “little excursion” during a speech to House Republicans and donors at Doral earlier in the day-- comments that he reiterated in the press conference.
“We could call it a tremendous success right now, or we could go further. And we’re going to go further,” Trump told reporters. He claimed that Iran’s top leadership and military capabilities had been largely wiped out, and that the country was running out of missiles.
Speaking on oil prices, Trump said they had increased “probably less than I thought they’d go up,” but that the country will take some sanctions off until passage through the Strait of Hormuz was restored.
The Strait is a key shipping channel that supplies at least 20% of the world’s overall oil demand. Iran, which controls a large portion of the channel, has repeatedly threatened to block the channel as part of a war with the U.S. and Iran.
Trump did not specify just what sanctions will be lifted. Last week, Washington had granted India a 30-day waiver to buy Russian oil due to disruptions in supplies from Iran.
Trump’s comments came after a whipsaw session for oil markets on Monday, with prices initially rising to nearly $120 a barrel, before rapidly falling back below $90/barrel.
The U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran entered its tenth day this week, with strikes against Tehran and retaliatory attacks showing few signs of ceasing by Monday evening.
Source: Investing