President Donald Trump sparred with a reporter in the Oval Office late Thursday afternoon, reacting sharply when pressed on a specific deadline for Iran to agree to a peace deal.
During a Q&A session, the exchange turned tense after a journalist asked how long the administration was willing to wait for a unified response from Iranian leadership.
“Don’t rush me, Jeff,” the President shot back, comparing the current five-and-a-half-week engagement to prolonged historical conflicts. “You know, guys like you, you want to say, oh, so we’re in Vietnam, like, for 18 years. We’re in Iraq for many, many years… I’ve been doing this for six weeks.”
Trump asserted that the Iranian military has been “totally defeated” and “obliterated,” claiming that their Navy, Air Force, and anti-aircraft capabilities have been neutralized. He cited a specific figure regarding naval losses, stating that 159 Iranian ships are now at the “bottom of the sea.”
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While acknowledging the presence of small armed boats he labeled “wise guy ships,” he maintained that a current blockade remains 100% effective, crippling the country’s economy.
The President attributed the delay in a formal deal to internal chaos within the Iranian government.
“They have all new leadership, and they’re fighting like cats and dogs for who’s going to control,” Trump said, noting that the U.S. is giving the country time to resolve its internal turmoil. He also revisited his decision to terminate the Obama-era nuclear deal, calling it a “horror show” that provided a pathway to a weapon he vows Iran will never possess.
During the back-and-forth, Trump also took aim at media coverage, specifically criticizing CNN and The New York Times for their reporting on the conflict’s progress. “If you watch CNN, you’d think that they’re doing well in the war. They’re not doing well, they’re getting absolutely decimated,” he told reporters.
Trump emphasized that the U.S. feels “no pressure” to rush the process, concluding that while 75% of targets have been hit, the military paused strikes because Iran expressed a desire for peace.
“We’ll see what happens,” he added.
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