WASHINGTON — President Trump said Thursday afternoon that he plans to resume bombing Iran if there’s no peace deal — arguing that Tehran, and not the US, is under pressure due to his blockade of oil exports.
“If they don’t want to make a deal, then I’ll finish it up militarily with the other 25% of the targets,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
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Trump also announced the cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by three weeks — which had been an initial sticking point for Iran. Trump said he would host Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and the President of Lebanon Joseph Aoun at the White House at a later date.
In the Oval Office, Trump fended off reporters asking him about his original four-week timeframe for the war, which has now lasted 55 days.
“I did say I thought it would take four to six weeks, and I was right, because at the end of six weeks, at the end of four weeks, their military was decimated,” Trump said.
“It’ll end. I don’t think it’ll be very long,” he added.
“They’re coming to us. The problem they have is they’re very disorganized now,” Trump went on.
“They know who the leader is in this country. We don’t know who the leader is in Iran.”
Trump touted the “100%” effectiveness of the US naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz to counter Iran’s attempts to control shipping in the critical waterway.
Iran’s regime is “going crazy” over the blockade, according to an insider, as the leadership still refuses to come to the negotiating table.
“A source who spoke to the Iranians summed it up to me in one line, ‘The Iranians are going crazy about the blockade,’” Axios correspondent Barak Ravid told CNN on Wednesday.
Trump grew frustrated with reporters on Thursday pressing him on his war timeframe and elevated oil prices, arguing that preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon was worth what he said would be short-term pain from higher gasoline costs.
Trump said gas prices would remain high “for a little while” due to Iran’s squeeze on the Strait of Hormuz.
“You know [the American people] get for that? Iran without a nuclear weapon that dry and blow up one of our cities or blow up the entire Middle East,” he said.
Trump blasted a reporter who asked if he’d be willing to use a nuclear weapon to finish off Iran.
“Why would a stupid question like that be asked?” he bristled.
“Why would I use a nuclear weapon where we’ve totally, in a very conventional way, decimated them without it? No, I wouldn’t use it. A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody.”
Trump sought to use the media availability to reframe questions about whether he is under pressure to quickly make a deal — with five days remaining before the 60-day deadline for congressional approval under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which passed after bipartisan backlash to mission creep in Vietnam.
“You know who is under time pressure? They are,” Trump said.
He added: “I’m not under any pressure whatsoever.”
He cited the fact that Iran’s Kharg Island, which processes about 90% of the nation’s oil exports, cannot easily stop the flow through pipelines from the mainland, potentially causing catastrophic damage to facilities.
“If they don’t get their oil moving, their whole oil infrastructure is going to explode,” he said.
The White House says it believes the War Powers Resolution, which requires Trump to get congressional approval by next week to continue the war, is unconstitutional. Courts have declined to force past presidents to end unauthorized conflicts, ruling that funding can be withheld to enforce the time limit.
Trump spoke two days after unilaterally extending a two-week cease-fire that was set to lapse on Wednesday. He made that move despite saying hours earlier he was prepared to resume bombing.
“I don’t want to rush it. I want to take my time. We have plenty of time. And I want to get a great deal. I want to get a deal where our nation and the world is safe from lunatics with nuclear weapons.”
