WASHINGTON DC — US President Donald Trump has declared that America must “finish the job” in Iran, even as he insisted the United States has already “won” the war, delivering conflicting messages on the 12th day of the conflict that has plunged the Middle East into chaos .
Speaking at an event in Hebron, Kentucky, on Wednesday, Trump told supporters: “We don’t want to leave early, do we? We got to finish the job. Over the past 11 days, our military has virtually destroyed Iran, tough country” .
The president claimed US forces had knocked out 58 Iranian naval ships and argued the operation had already achieved major success. “We’ve won. Let me tell you, we’ve won. You know, you never like to say too early you won. We won. In the first hour it was over,” Trump stated .
However, he cautioned against declaring victory prematurely, adding: “We don’t want to go back every two years. And that’s because, you know, there will be some day when you don’t have me as president, you’ll have perhaps a weak, pathetic person like we’ve had in the past” .
Earlier in the day, Trump had told Axios journalist Barak Ravid that the war would end “soon” because there was “practically nothing left to target” in Iran, aside from “little this and that” . But he later contradicted this, telling reporters at the White House that there would be “more of the same” militarily .
Iran Warns of Economic Catastrophe
Tehran has responded defiantly, warning it could wage a prolonged war that would “destroy” the global economy . Ali Fadavi, an adviser to the commander-in-chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), warned that the US and Israel “must consider the possibility that they will be engaged in a long-term war of attrition that will destroy the entire American economy and the world economy” .
The IRGC has threatened to strike “economic centres and banks” linked to US and Israeli interests, prompting international firms to evacuate staff from Dubai . Iran also claimed responsibility for targeting two commercial vessels in the Gulf after they entered the Strait of Hormuz “after ignoring the warnings” of its navy .
Conflicting Signals from Allies
While Trump suggested the war might soon wind down, Israel’s military signalled the campaign was far from finished, stating it still had “a broad bank of targets” . The Israeli military announced it was carrying out a “wide-scale wave of strikes” after the IRGC claimed a joint missile operation with Hezbollah against targets in Israel .
US and Israeli officials told Axios they are preparing for at least two more weeks of strikes in Iran, with no internal directive on when fighting might stop .
Economic Fallout Intensifies
The conflict has sent shockwaves through global energy markets, with fighting around the strategic Strait of Hormuz — which carries a fifth of the world’s oil — bringing shipping almost to a halt . The International Energy Agency has agreed to release a record 400 million barrels from global reserves, while Trump authorized the release of 172 million barrels from US strategic reserves beginning next week .
Pentagon officials briefed US lawmakers that the cost of the war exceeded $11.3 billion in its first six days, according to The New York Times .
The death toll continues to mount. Iran’s health ministry reported on March 8 that more than 1,200 people had been killed in US and Israeli strikes . In Lebanon, where Hezbollah has been drawn into the conflict, officials said the death toll from ten days of fighting has reached more than 630, with over 800,000 people displaced .
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