U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the war with Iran could end "fairly soon," adding that Tehran was "talking very politely" with Washington.
Trump told reporters in the White House Monday, after a meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, that "We're seeing momentum toward the end of this conflict. I think it's going to be ending fairly soon."
"Iran militarily is effectively over," Trump said, citing the destruction of its navy and surging inflation that he said has hollowed out its economy.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait would "prefer the status quo" which involves maintaining the naval blockade against Iran and "Operation Iron Gate" — a task force announced on Saturday aimed at preventing Iran from using ground routes to transport advanced weapons and other materials — Trump said in a Truth Social post.
He reiterated that Iran would not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and kept the door open for potentially resuming strikes should circumstances change. "America is 'docked and loaded' and ready to go," he said, though caveating that new strikes were "quite unlikely."