US President Donald Trump declared the US has won the war with Iran and that renewed fighting was “highly unlikely,” as US forces struck Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
“We won in Iran,” Trump said on Sunday. “It’s just a matter of closing it out now.”
Trump also said that Iran was collapsing financially and militarily, adding that the US had three aircraft carriers in the region and had identified infrastructure targets including power plants and bridges.
“They’re a failing nation. It just came out, you saw this year, 301% inflation,” Trump claimed. “They’re withering away financially. We’ve hit them militarily. We could finish them off.”
Iran’s official figures put inflation at nearly 90% year-on-year in September.
The US president further warned that his final decision on possible strikes “depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement.”
“We have 38 bridges in our sight that we can knock down in literally one hour,” he said, adding he was reluctant to act. “I don’t like ripping down bridges,” he said, adding that rebuilding Iran’s infrastructure could take a decade.
“I would if necessary, but we hit them really hard. I hit them so hard. You don’t know how hard I hit them,” he said.
Trump said the US had suffered no fatalities in the war. “Again, we haven’t lost anybody. No soldiers,” he said.
The Pentagon’s official count puts the death toll at 23 service members killed since the war began in late February.
Another Qeshm strike reported
Explosions were reported in Mahshahr, Qeshm, Sirik and Bandar Abbas on Sunday evening. Iran’s Tasnim news agency confirmed a US projectile struck Qeshm Island, saying no other areas in Hormozgan province were hit.
It said sounds heard in Bandar Abbas and Sirik were related to Iranian security operations in the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier, Iran’s navy announced an oil tanker had struck a naval mine while crossing the strait and caught fire, saying the vessel was sailing on what it called a prohibited route.
Iran labels ships transiting the strait’s southern route under US naval guidance as violating its rules.
On Saturday, CENTCOM reported an attack on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Oman, saying it had repeatedly attempted to breach the US naval blockade against Iran.
Iran’s IRGC said two oil tankers caught fire after striking mines while crossing the strait.
CENTCOM announced on Saturday the creation of a new task force, saying it would “support the ongoing efforts of the US government to prevent Iran from using land routes to transfer advanced weapons and other items.”
Trump subsequently said the force was operating at full capacity alongside what he described as the largest naval blockade in history.
Iran blasts Rubio’s ‘ridiculous’ comment
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran’s demands were not only unacceptable but in some cases “overblown, ridiculous and really unrealistic.”
He said he could report no progress in talks, that steps taken so far had not been very constructive, and that US actions in the Strait of Hormuz were defensive.
“I wouldn’t say we’re on the verge of a breakthrough. Trump would always prefer to solve every problem diplomatically. Sometimes that’s not possible,” Rubio said.
“But if there’s a chance to do it, we will explore it. Right now, it hasn’t been very productive.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei on Monday rejected Rubio’s characterisation, saying that “pursuing the rights and interests of the Iranian nation was not unreasonable.”
He said Washington must end sanctions, the naval blockade and the war on all fronts before any negotiations could begin, and that Iran’s two-day proposal to restore security to the strait remained on the table.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Democratic victory in the US midterm elections had paused the mediation process, with intermediaries not travelling for several days while the political situation settled.
He wrote on X that the US must now choose between accepting Iran’s conditions or resuming the war, and that Tehran’s two-day proposal remained open.
“Americans are evidently sick and tired of Israel bamboozling US administrations into Forever Wars,” Araghchi said on X. “They had enough. So has our region.”
Qatar said Trump spoke by phone with Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss reducing regional tensions. The White House said Trump would meet Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the White House.
Araghchi said he had been in contact in recent days with counterparts in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Pakistan, Kuwait, Jordan, Turkey, Cyprus and Qatar.
Trump told CBS in a separate interview that Iran was close to reaching an agreement but that the midterm result had given Tehran some hope. He said he was not looking to intensify the war and saw no reason to do so.
Trump also said the US had an undisclosed Iranian underground facility under surveillance and could strike it within an hour if needed, but said this was not currently necessary.