Six months on, Trump calls Iran conflict a little war, threatens to smack Tehran As the Iran war continues beyond six months, Donald Trump sought to dismiss the conflict as a 'relatively little war' for the US while threatening further strikes against Tehran.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to "smack" Iran with fresh strikes while dismissing the prolonged conflict as "a relatively little war" for the United States, a combative message that came after Washington and Tehran traded direct fire for the first time in weeks.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump was asked about a news report that several senior US military leaders were concerned that a continued operation in West Asia could weaken Washington’s ability to respond to threats elsewhere. Trump rejected the concerns, saying the six-month-long conflict was not imposing a significant burden on the United States, saying, "This is a relatively little war for us.
This is not a big war". The US war on Iran, which began on February 28 in coordination with Israel, has killed thousands of people in the country, including its leadership, starting with former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and destroyed several critical infrastructure.
It has also exacted a significant cost on the US, with American personnel and military assets lost in the Middle East, while placing financial and military strain on Washington. The effects of the war were felt across the globe, with an acute energy crisis and sending oil prices soaring.
Trump's remarks came as he weighed further strikes against Iran following a fresh exchange of attacks over the weekend, raising fears that the conflict could again escalate after weeks in which Washington and Tehran had increasingly relied on economic pressure, sanctions and blockades.
Trump also described Iran as a "failed nation" and warned that the US could launch additional attacks. "That doesn’t mean we won’t smack them. We’ll see what happens," he added. Separately, a Fox News reporter quoted Trump as saying, "We’re going to hit them hard.
There will be a response." The latest escalation began on Sunday, when US forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes were carried out after forces from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were observed preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the strategic waterway, US officials claimed.
While the US Central Command described the operation as "limited" and "precise", saying the Iranian minelaying forces posed an "imminent threat" in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reported that three people were killed in the US attack. Iran subsequently retaliated with missile attacks targeting US military positions in the region.
Tehran said it had targeted US forces at two bases in Jordan and also targeted US personnel at an air base in the United Arab Emirates. Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed the ballistic missile attack on two US bases in Jordan caused "heavy damage".
Trump, however, said US air defences had intercepted all Iranian missiles capable of causing damage, apart from one that was determined not to pose a threat. Jordan’s army said it had intercepted eight missiles, without specifying their origin. TRUMP RULES OUT LITTLE, INCLUDING NUKE OPTION Trump sought to play down the prospect that the latest exchange marked a return to a full-scale war, even as he threatened further strikes.
Asked whether he had ruled out the use of nuclear weapons against Iran, Trump said there was "no reason" to do so, arguing that Iran was already "totally defeated militarily". A senior Iranian source described the latest exchange, the first since late July, as a "limited and contained confrontation" but warned that Tehran would respond harshly if attacked again.
Alongside the military confrontation, the Trump administration has also increasingly relied on economic pressure to force Tehran to concede to US demands. Washington has stepped up sanctions targeting Iran and companies and countries doing business with it, including so-called secondary sanctions aimed at third-country buyers of Iranian oil.
DON'T SEEK WAR, BUT WILL RESPOND TO AGGRESSORS: IRAN As tensions escalated, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran does not seek war but would respond with "strength and decisiveness" to any aggression, according to a statement issued by his office.
"We do not seek war, and this is a clear message that we have so far conveyed to the world," Pezeshkian said. "However, we will never sit still in the face of aggressions and will give a decisive response to aggressors." Pezeshkian said instability and unrest in the region were not in the interest of any country and would pose challenges for everyone.
He called on countries in the region to "join hands" and work towards ensuring regional security and development.