President Donald Trump walked unexpectedly into the White House briefing room on Monday after meeting Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. He told reporters that Iran militarily is effectively over and stated that the US is just keeping it the status quo.
Trump noted that Iran has been decapitated, but mentioned that he still wants a long-term plan to ensure its nuclear program is defanged. His statements follow the Republican Party losing both chambers of Congress to Democrats in last week's elections, where voters showed clear frustration with the 8-month-old war and rising fuel prices.
Blockade stays while talks continue
Trump said regional allies including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Kuwait prefer the status quo. He mentioned there is positive momentum and a good chance the war could end, noting that the Iranians are talking very politely.
Even so, Trump offered no sign of pulling back the thousands of US troops stationed in waters near Iran. He insisted that the military blockade stopping Iranian oil exports will continue, calling it the greatest military blockade ever. Meanwhile, Tehran still demands that Washington lift sanctions, unfreeze assets, pay war damages, end the port blockade, and halt regional hostilities, including Israeli operations in Lebanon.
“Iran militarily is effectively over. We’re just keeping it the status quo.”Donald Trump
Target lists and impeachment moves
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier on Monday that future moves depend entirely on Trump. Hegseth now faces an impeachment vote push from Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who cited his handling of the war alongside critics who argue the conflict violated the War Powers Resolution.
In a Sunday interview with CNN, Trump explained that resuming strikes is highly unlikely if negotiations show progress and produce a strong deal. However, he warned that the US has already mapped out infrastructure targets, including 38 bridges, if fighting starts up again. Over the past week, American forces struck Iranian air defenses at least twice and disabled a commercial vessel on Saturday for allegedly trying to break the blockade.
