Iran war will end very soon, says Trump

Washington, October 15 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has said the war with Iran will end very soon, predicting a rapid fall in global energy prices once the conflict is over and insisting that Tehran will not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.Speaking to reporters before departing Arizona for an election rally in Montana, Trump linked the expected end of the conflict to lower oil prices and improvements in the American economy."And Iran will end very shortly. It's gonna be over very shortly, and your energy prices will fall very rapidly, very fast," Trump said.The President did not give a specific timetable for ending the conflict or explain whether negotiations were underway to secure an agreement with Tehran.He maintained that the United States had achieved its central military objective of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons."And I had to make an excursion down to Iran to take away the nuclear weapon. And we've done that. They won't have a nuclear weapon," he said.Trump repeated the assurance moments later."Uh, the war's gonna be over very soon. Thank you very much."His remarks came after a campaign rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, where he gave a more detailed account of the American military campaign against Iran and its consequences for international energy markets.At that rally, Trump claimed that American military operations had severely weakened Iran's armed forces, including its naval and air capabilities.He also suggested that the scale of the operations had complicated Washington's ability to identify Iranian officials with whom it could negotiate."I might have gone too far. I don't know who the hell to deal with," Trump said while discussing the removal of successive levels of Iranian leadership.The President said the United States had established control over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial maritime passage for international oil shipments.He claimed that oil movements through the waterway had recovered despite the military confrontation."But, you know, we have taken total control of the Hormuz Strait, and we're taking more gasoline -- we're taking more oil right now out of the Hormuz Strait than we did before this started," he said.Trump attributed the situation to American naval operations, including a blockade that he described as a wall of steel.He argued that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons justified the economic consequences of military action.The President also addressed inflation after being asked whether he had discussed the latest inflation report with Kevin Warsh."We're at 1.7 per cent inflation for the last three months," he said, describing the administration's economic performance as strong.He compared current oil prices with those during former President Joe Biden's administration and argued that energy remained cheaper despite the confrontation with Iran.Trump did not directly address the question about market expectations of an interest rate increase.The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It is one of the world's most strategically important maritime routes for crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.