Speaking to Fox News presenter Laura Ingraham on Thursday stateside, Trump said he would have attacked Iran even if the decision affected his party’s prospects in the midterm elections.
“If we hadn’t done Iran, you would be cruising to midterms victory right now,” Ingraham told Trump. Trump responded by saying, “supposing we were cruising, and all of a sudden Iran has a nuclear weapon. They would use it.”
Trump added that if Iran had a nuclear weapon, the Islamic Republic would “wipe out” Israel and the Middle East and begin hitting U.S. cities.
His comments came as markets brace for a longer Iran war, after a Wall Street Journal report revealed that top White House advisors had discussed with Trump the possibility that the Iran war could drag on beyond his current term.
Trump has said that the war will end immediately after the midterm elections and that oil and gas prices will also fall, adding to his months-long claims that the conflict will end soon.
In separate comments to NewsNation on Thursday, Trump denied reports that there was any damage to U.S. assets after Iran claimed it had hit multiple U.S. fighter aircraft at a base in Jordan.
“No damage. No nothing,” Trump said when asked if there was any truth to the reports.
Washington is continuing efforts to isolate Iran from its economic network, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent flagging sanctions against “a large bank” next week.
“We’re going to do it on Monday because we want to honor the memory of our fallen citizens on 9/11. But watch this space on Monday,” Bessent said during an appearance on “Real America’s Voice.”
Bessent said the administration had sanctioned and closed the Dubai branches of the second largest bank in Egypt, claiming that the bank had given Iran $1.8 billion dollars. He also said that the “30th-largest Turkish bank” that had been giving to the Iranians had been sanctioned, without naming it.
The U.S. had sanctioned Turkey-based Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi (Golden Global Bank) and its subsidiaries last week.
Trump, in the NewsNation interview, was also asked how Iran could continue holding out under the current economic pressure.
“I don’t know that they’re gonna be able to hold out,” Trump said. “But it’ll get settled after the elections. Or maybe sooner. But it’ll get settled right after the election.”
Trump’s remarks reaffirm his position that the Iran war was necessary despite its potential political consequences, while the administration continues to combine military pressure with economic measures against Iran.
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