Donald Trump has suggested his war with Iran could soon come to an end just hours after completing a mysterious phone call with Vladimir Putin.
Trump told reporters US forces are ‘very far ahead of schedule,’ claiming Iran’s military has effectively been destroyed.
‘I think the war is very complete, pretty much,’ Trump told CBS News. ‘They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no Air Force…Wrapping up is all in my mind.’
Trump’s remarks came after Putin shared a proposal to quickly end the war during the call, according to the Kremlin.
The two leaders also discussed the current war in Ukraine as well as the oil market in Venezuela.
Following Trump’s remarks, the stock market rallied after a tumultuous trading day. US oil plunged to $86 per barrel, down from $91 earlier Monday, after Trump said he is ‘thinking about taking over’ the Strait of Hormuz.
The Dow closed up 200 points after dropping nearly 900 points at its session low, while the S&P jumped 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq rebounded to 1.4 percent after crashing by as much as 1.5 percent.
Trump also claimed Iran’s missile and drone capabilities had been neutralized by US strikes. Iran launched retaliatory attacks on US bases and other Gulf nations after the death of its supreme leader, killing seven American troops.
Donald Trump suggested his war with Iran could soon come to an end just hours after completing a mysterious phone call with Vladimir Putin
Following Trump’s remarks, the stock market rallied after a tumultuous trading day
A US Air Force Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber jet lands on the runway, beyond a USAF Rockwell B-1 Lancer bomber jet, at RAF Fairford in south west England on March 9,
‘Their missiles are down to a scatter. Their drones are being blown up all over the place, including their manufacturing of drones,’ Trump added.
‘If you look, they have nothing left. There’s nothing left in a military sense.’
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, has sent oil prices skyrocketing. A fifth of global oil flows through the narrow strait.
Americans are already feeling the pinch, with gasoline prices up to $3.4 per gallon on average compared to $2.9 before the war started, according to AAA.
Iran has strangled the strait by launching drone and missile attacks at America’s Arab allies.
Trump suggested he is ‘thinking about taking it over’ as oil tankers currently remain stuck in the Persian Gulf.
When asked about Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, the President said ‘I have no message for him. None, whatsoever.’
Trump said on Monday he was ‘not happy with’ Khamenei as the Islamic regime’s new dictator.
A smoke cloud erupts from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on March 9
Trump said he was ‘not happy with’ Khamenei as the Islamic regime’s new dictator
When asked what he would do to the Islamic leader, Trump responded: ‘Not going to tell you…Not going to tell you. I’m not happy with him.’
Trump went further by telling close aides he would support killing Iran’s new supreme leader if he refuses to abandon the country’s nuclear program.
Mojtaba, 56, the second son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was announced as his successor on Sunday after being appointed by the regime’s 88-person assembly – despite previous opposition from his father.
The ‘vengeful’ hardline cleric is already marked for assassination by Israel after it vowed to ‘eliminate’ whoever succeeded the slain Ayatollah, having killed him and Mojtaba’s wife Zahra Haddad-Adel in strikes on the first day of the conflict.
Mojtaba is described as a hardline fundamentalist with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The President has previously vowed that he would kill any successor of Iran’s leadership who assumed power without his permission.
Trump also backed off his earlier threat to send US troops to destroy Iran’s uranium stockpile at a secret nuclear facility near Tehran.
‘We haven’t made any decision on that. We’re nowhere near it,’ Trump said of deploying ground troops to the underground Uranium stockpile in Isfahan.
A smoke cloud erupts from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on March 9
A fire burns at the site of a collapsed building following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on March 9
A US Air Force Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber jet taxis on the runway after landing at RAF Fairford in south west England on March 9
An Israeli Merkava main battle tank moves past armoured personnel carriers (APCs) deployed at a position in the upper Galilee in northern Israel near the Lebanon border on March 9
His latest remarks directly contradict earlier statements in which he said he was considering deploying soldiers as the war with Iran spiraled across the Middle East.
‘I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t think it’s an appropriate question. You know, I’m not going to answer it. Could there be? Possible, for very good reason,’ Trump said.
A new Daily Mail/J.L. Partners poll found the President’s approval now stands at 44 percent, down four points since last week and marking the lowest rating recorded in Daily Mail tracking to date.
