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President Donald Trump said Tuesday that U.S. military operations in Iran could conclude within the next two to three weeks, as negotiations continue alongside ongoing strikes.
Speaking to reporters after signing an election-related executive order, the president suggested that Operation Epic Fury is nearing completion.
“I think two or three weeks; we’ll leave, because there’s no reason for us to do this,” President Trump said when asked about the timeline for ending the conflict.
The president said securing the Strait of Hormuz would ultimately fall to other nations that rely on the waterway for oil shipments, rather than the United States.
“Look, the problem with the strait—a guy can take a mine, drop it in the water, and say, ‘Oh, it’s unsafe.’ It’s not like you’re taking out an army, or you’re taking out a country,” he stated. “That’s not for us, that’ll be for France, that’ll be for whoever is using the strait.”
President Trump added that shipping activity through the strait appeared to be improving. He also said negotiations with Iranian officials are ongoing.
“We’re negotiating with them right now… again, we have had regime change. Now, regime change was not one of the things I had as a goal. I had one goal: They will have no nuclear weapon and that goal has been attained. They will not have nuclear weapons,” he said.
President Trump repeated his expectation that the operation would end soon.
“But we’re finishing the job, and I think within maybe two weeks, maybe a couple of days longer to do the job, but we want to knock out every single thing they have,” he said.
He added that a diplomatic agreement could shorten the timeline.
“Now it’s possible that we’ll make a deal before that,” President Trump said. “But if they come to the table, that’ll be good.”
U.S. officials have not formally announced an end date for the operation, and military activity in the region continues as talks proceed.