Trump says the US could end the Iran war 'very quickly' or let it 'wither'; UN envoy Waltz disputes FT account of his remarks
President Donald Trump said he was weighing whether to finish the war with Iran or let it wind down. US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said the US blockade of Iranian ports could be kept up for the foreseeable future, but rejected a Financial Times portrayal of his remarks. An Iranian naval commander said US forces had moved away from the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday 23 October that the United States could end its war with Iran quickly, but that he was weighing whether to do so. “We could end it very quickly,” Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn before leaving for a campaign rally in Florida, adding that he was considering whether to “finish it off or just want to let it wither”. He also said oil was still flowing through the Strait of Hormuz and that the US was “getting everything we want”, Firstpost reported, citing agencies.
At a rally in Iowa on Thursday, Trump said: “More oil came out of the Hormuz Strait over the last week than at any time previous, including before the war. That’s because of the blockade,” Iran International reported.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told the Financial Times that “the president and the US Navy can maintain this blockade for the foreseeable future”. The FT reported that the US was prepared for a long stand-off. Waltz later rejected that portrayal, saying “I never said this. It was fabricated”, and published a transcript in which, asked whether the situation could be unchanged in a year, he said: “I’m not gonna put out hypotheticals. One would hope that they’ll come to the table in a meaningful way before that.” He said decisions on the blockade rest with Trump, Iran International reported.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy commander Ali Ozmaei said on Friday that US forces had “moved 600 to 700 kilometers away from the Strait of Hormuz”, Iran International reported.
The US and Israel began strikes on Iran on 28 February. The White House told ABC News this week that the US would not attack Iran before the 3 November midterm elections.
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