Trump’s Iran message: ‘Very soon’ victory, falling oil prices and no nuclear bomb
US president Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States would win its war with Iran “very soon”, predicting that gas prices would tumble and oil prices would move sharply lower once the conflict ends, even as mediators worked behind the scenes to revive diplomacy between Washington and Tehran.
Mediators are working with Iran and the United States to broker an agreement that could end the fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to officials cited by The Associated Press. Three regional officials and two US officials said major obstacles remain between the sides. Trump, meanwhile, said Iran must not be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon and warned of the consequences if it did. “If you want to see turmoil and a travesty, let them take out a city with a nuclear weapon… let them hit us with a nuclear weapon,” Trump said according to Iran International, arguing that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a threat beyond Israel and the Middle East.
A senior US official said Trump remained open to a non-military resolution if one could be reached. Another US official said Washington would not agree to a deal until Iran’s nuclear programme was addressed. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi was expected to meet Qatari mediators in New York on Monday, Iranian state media reported, as Qatar continues to shuttle messages between the two sides.