Trump says Iran war ending 'very soon' but US 'not ready to leave yet'

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the Iran war would be ending in the "very near future," but insisted "we're not ready to leave yet." Speaking at a meeting with Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin at the White House, Trump said: "Look, if we left right now, it would take 10 years for them to rebuild. We'll be leaving in pretty much the very near future."

Claims of victory

Claiming that the US "decimated" Iran "from every standpoint," he said, "Everything is gone. Their leaders are gone." Trump's statements suggest the administration believes it has achieved its military objectives, even as the conflict continues with Iranian retaliatory strikes and a ground war in Lebanon.

Larijani killing confirmed

On the Israeli killing of Ali Larijani, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in an airstrike near Tehran, Trump confirmed that he was "killed yesterday." He said Larijani was "responsible for the killing of 32,000 people" at protests in Iran, referencing the regime's crackdown on dissent. Israel claimed responsibility for the strike, and Iran confirmed Larijani's death along with his son and several companions.

Military capability

He added that "Iran is just a military operation to me … We could take out their electric capacity in one hour," reiterating his previous statements about holding back from striking civilian infrastructure despite the capability to do so.

Conflict context

The US and Israel launched joint attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, killing over 1,300 people according to Iranian authorities, including former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and more than 150 schoolgirls. The conflict has expanded to include a ground offensive in Lebanon that has displaced over one million people. Trump's declaration of an imminent end comes as the war enters its third week with no formal ceasefire in sight.