U.S. President Donald Trump said in remarks in Montana that the war in Iran would end very soon and that oil prices would fall sharply after the war.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday night, Trump said Iran also wanted the conflict to end. Arguing that Iran would never possess a nuclear weapon, Trump said oil prices would drop like a rock once the war ended.
“The war in Iran will end very soon. They want it to end too. They will never have nuclear weapons, and oil prices will drop like a rock,” Trump said.
Iranian officials involved in Washington's talks remain unclear
At his rally in Montana, Trump also said Washington was negotiating with Iran to end the war. However, he said he was unsure which Iranian officials were involved in the talks.
Trump claimed that Iran had no navy or air force, arguing that the country's military had been severely weakened and its leaders eliminated.
Trump makes claims about Iran's military capacity
Trump said Iran had once been the dominant military power in the Middle East, arguing that U.S. military operations had significantly weakened the country's capabilities. Describing Iran at one time as the region's bully, Trump said the country was no longer as powerful as it had been.
Trump also claimed that U.S. strikes had destroyed Iran's naval fleet and rendered its military aircraft unusable. Saying Iran had 159 ships, Trump asserted that none of them remained operational.
Trump said Iran had 274 fighter jets and claimed that all of them were lying shattered on runways, leaving the number of operational fighter jets at zero.
Dispute over the Strait of Hormuz halted negotiations
After the war launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran on February 28, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding on June 18 and began negotiations. However, the talks collapsed over a dispute concerning navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, which is strategically important for global energy shipments.
