Trump on Iran: we won, but must finish the job

US President Donald Trump declared on Wednesday that ‘we have won’ the war with Iran, but said the United States would remain engaged to complete its mission.

‘You never want to say you’ve won too soon. We won,’ Trump said at a rally in Hebron, Kentucky. ‘It was over in the first hour.’

He said the United States had destroyed 58 Iranian naval vessels.

According to Reuters, Trump has shifted his tone in remarks on Iran. While crediting the US military with significantly weakening Iran’s armed forces, he has also resisted calls for a rapid end to the conflict.

‘We don’t want to leave too soon, do we?’ Trump said. ‘We have to finish the job.’

He added that the United States had ‘practically destroyed Iran’ and suggested that US forces would continue fighting for the time being. ‘We don’t want to come back here every two years,’ he said.

(reuters, luc)