President Trump on Wednesday insisted he’s been successful in waging war on Iran, pointing to improving economic indicators and Tehran’s weakened military.
Mr. Trump defended his performance hours after he conceded the ceasefire between the countries was effectively over and he planned to hit new military targets.
“The Iran war has been a tremendous military success,” Mr. Trump said at a press conference closing the NATO summit. “You see the oil prices are lower than when I started.”
Gas prices stood at a U.S. average of $3.80 per gallon Wednesday, up from just below $3 at the start of the war, according to the AAA motor club.
Mr. Trump said he would stop the Islamic regime in Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and proved he could squeeze Iran, economically, by blocking its ports.
“I think we’re doing phenomenally well,” Mr. Trump said. “Did you ever see a blockade work that way?”
Critics of Mr. Trump’s war say his rosy appraisal belies facts on the ground.
The countries have all but abandoned a memorandum of understanding that was supposed to wind down the war, which started Feb. 28 with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets to prevent it from gaining a nuclear weapon.
“Trump’s so-called ’deal’ to end hostilities with Iran has turned into a total, utter disaster. This is what happens when an incompetent president launches a war with no objective, no plan, and no exit strategy – you lose,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat. “The American people are paying the price for Trump’s total failure in Iran. Our troops are back in harm’s way, and high gas costs are continuing to punish working families.”
Mr. Trump, in recent weeks, praised certain Iranian officials as more rational than prior leaders, who were killed in the early days of the war.
He said his opinion soured because “I got to know ‘em.”
“I think they are more rational, but based on their actions over the last week or two, they’re not doing a service to the people,” the president said. “I’m not sure I want to make a deal with them. I’ll just finish the job.”
