Trump Calls the Iran Conflict a 'Very Soft War' the US Could End Any Time, Hours After a Strike on Qeshm Island
On election eve the president told Sean Hannity there has been no shooting for months and a deal is likely. Fox says the US struck Iran's Qeshm Island Monday after Iran fired at a US aircraft. The Pentagon puts the war's cost above $47 billion.
President Trump used the last night before Election Day to tell voters the Iran conflict is not a "forever war," Fox News reports.
What he said. On "Hannity" Monday, Trump said: "We're not fighting a war... When was the last time we fired anything? This isn't a war, this is a very soft war." He added that "there hasn't been shooting for months" and that the US can end the conflict "at any time." Fox says he told its reporters the US is dealing from "total strength" and that Iran "wants to make a deal very badly," adding "there is a very good chance we make a deal."
The strike. Fox notes the comments came shortly after the US struck Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, after Iran fired at a US aircraft. Officials told Fox the "defensive" strike does not signal a return to full-scale US strikes on Iran.
The warning. Trump said he is in no hurry to resume strikes, but that Iran will get "the hammer" soon if the latest talks fail. He pointed to the earlier Operation Midnight Hammer, which he said destroyed Iran's potential nuclear capability, and said the US "might have to go after Pickaxe," a reference to Pickaxe Mountain. "We can do it in literally one hour," he said. He described Iran's military, navy, air force and anti-aircraft systems as "gone."
The cost. Fox reports the war began eight months ago, that gas prices have surged, and that the Pentagon estimates it has cost taxpayers more than $47 billion. Trump dismissed the price as "peanuts" and said the war was needed to stop Iran from building a nuclear weapon. Fox calls the cost a political liability for Republicans heading into the vote. It also cites a Fox News poll in which 71 percent think the Trump administration lacks a plan to end the war.
What we could not check. The quotes are Trump's own account of the conflict, and "soft war" is his characterization. We have not seen the Pentagon's cost estimate or the Qeshm strike details beyond what Fox reports. For the talks themselves, see our separate report on the Iran settlement comments.