Trump Ready to End Iran War Even if Strait of Hormuz Remains Closed

SadaNews - The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. President Donald Trump informed his aides of his readiness to end the military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, postponing the complicated process of reopening it to a later time.

The newspaper quoted three officials in the U.S. administration as saying that the Trump administration believes that the task of opening the Strait of Hormuz could prolong the war by four to six weeks.

According to the officials, Washington's current objectives "focus on weakening the Iranian navy and reducing its missile capabilities."

The officials indicated that there are additional military options against Iran, but they are not currently a priority for Trump.

On Monday, President Trump threatened to "erase" the strategically significant Qeshm Island for Iran if Tehran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz and if the talks, which he described as "serious", do not lead to a "swift" result.

Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social: "The United States is having serious talks with a new and more rational regime to end our military operations in Iran."

He added: "Significant progress has been made, but if no agreement is reached quickly for any reason - which is likely to happen - and if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened immediately, we will end our enjoyable stay in Iran by destroying and erasing all power plants, oil wells, Qeshm Island (and possibly all desalination plants!)" according to Agence France-Presse.

White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt later reiterated the administration's insistence on ending the U.S. war on Iran within two weeks.

Levitt told reporters that Trump "has always indicated that the expected duration ranges between four and six weeks. Today, we are on the thirtieth day. From here, you can count the duration yourselves."

She clarified that Trump "wants to reach an agreement within the next ten days."

When Levitt was asked whether Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilian infrastructure constitutes a war crime, she stated that the U.S. armed forces will always abide by the law.

However, she warned the Iranians that the U.S. military "possesses capabilities beyond their imaginations, and the president is not afraid to use them."

On Sunday evening, Trump stated to reporters aboard Air Force One that the United States has achieved a "regime change" in Iran through its war with Israel against Tehran for a month, citing the number of Iranian leaders who have been killed.

Trump described the new leadership in Tehran as "more rational," adding, "We are dealing with different people than anyone has dealt with before. They are a completely different group of people and more rational."

When asked whether an agreement with Iran could be reached next week, Trump said, "I see a deal on the horizon."