The president of the United States, Donald Trump, affirmed this Tuesday that the war in Iran, triggered by the surprise offensive launched by his Administration together with Israel, will conclude in "two or three weeks", considering the objective that Tehran "will not have nuclear weapons" "achieved", in full development of conversations about what he has defined as a "new regime" which, as he has admitted, was not among his initial plans, although he has described it as "much better" and "much more reasonable".
"We have achieved a regime change. Now, regime change was not one of my objectives. My objective was that they not have nuclear weapons, and that objective has been achieved. They will not have nuclear weapons. But we are finishing the job, and I believe we will achieve it in about two weeks, maybe a couple of days more," Trump declared from the Oval Office of the White House, before reiterating his purpose to "eliminate everything they have."
Subsequently, he maintained that Iran "will not be able to manufacture a nuclear weapon for years." "And when they are ready, perhaps a long time from now, you will have a president like me who will go there and decisively defeat them," he stated before reporters, insisting that Tehran "cannot have nuclear weapons" because, according to his judgment, "they are very radicalized people (...), very sick leaders."
Despite this discourse, the Republican leader defended that "the new leadership" Iranian "is much better than the previous one". "Now we have a very different group of people. They are much more reasonable," he assessed in an appearance in which he considered it "possible" to close a pact. "They want to reach an agreement more than I do," he remarked, reiterating that the offensive against Iran will conclude "in a fairly short period."
Trump also spoke out, with a notable shift in his tone and approach, about the security of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the main focal points of tension in the conflict, as well as about the rising cost of oil derived from the de facto blockade imposed by Iranian forces in response to attacks by the United States and Israel.
In contrast to his threats of recent weeks, when he went so far as to warn of the destruction of infrastructure, in case Iran did not reopen the strategic corridor connecting the Persian and Oman gulfs, on this occasion the leader maintained that the issue should fall to other countries: "If France or another country wants to obtain oil or gas, let it go through the strait; they will go directly through there and will be able to fend for themselves."
"What happens in the strait will have nothing to do with us," he emphasized, underlining that "there is no reason" for the United States to continue pressing for the unblocking of Hormuz and reiterating that "in two or three weeks" U.S. forces will leave the area.
The president also referred to the rising cost of gasoline, driven by the rise in crude oil prices in the markets to 4 dollars a gallon (0.91 euros a liter) for the first time since 2022, according to data released by CNN. Given this scenario, Trump sent a message of calm to American consumers: "The only thing I have to do is leave Iran, and we will do it very soon, and prices will plummet," he assured.