US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US is defeating Iran and predicted that the war “will end very quickly."
“We’re saving the world from what could be one of the worst tragedies ever. They won’t have - that’s decided - they will not have a nuclear weapon. They understand that," Trump said at rally in Nebraska ahead of the midterm elections in November.
“The war will end very quickly, and prices are going to come down very sharply. You might say, 'Please, please, sir, it's going down too fast!' You watch what’s going to happen in a very short period of time," he added.
Last week, Trump stated that Iran is “ready to fold up" and again predicted that the conflict could conclude shortly after the November midterm elections.
Speaking at an event in Texas, Trump said, “We have a war going on with a country that will never have a nuclear weapon and is ready to fold up. We'll win very easily right now. I believe right after the election we'll win, but maybe before the election."
Trump also reiterated that Iran had been “three to four weeks away, maybe sooner" from obtaining a nuclear weapon when the war began at the end of February. “And if they have a nuclear weapon, the whole game is over.."
He said the conflict would end “one way or the other...either they'll do something very proper and smart or they won't be around very long, which is, you know, frankly, I hate to see that, but they won't be around very long."
Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei responded by sharply criticizing Trump on social media, describing him as “the worst president in American history" and saying his rhetoric had “outrun his own fantasies."
“You can win every day in your own imagination. But reality is shaped by Iran - by its people, its soldiers, and its missiles," wrote Rezaei.
The exchange followed Iran’s announcement that it had received a new US response concerning efforts to restore a ceasefire in the Gulf. Trump said last week that he had rejected an Iranian proposal.