Trump: We are achieving a “major victory” against Iran; no specific timeline for return to negotiations

US President Donald Trump said the United States has achieved victory in Venezuela and will achieve a major victory in Iran “very soon.” In remarks to the Al Jazeera satellite channel, Trump added, “Our financial power is immense, and this will lead to a very great victory against Tehran. The Iranians are suffering from massive inflation and their economy is collapsing,” noting that the US confrontation with Iran “is not subject to any timeline and will continue no matter how long it takes.” He continued, “There is no specific timeline regarding a decision to return to the negotiating table, and I am in no hurry.” He reiterated, “We are achieving a very great victory against Iran. We have crippled its navy; for example, we destroyed 20 Iranian boats the day before yesterday.” Trump further stated, “I believe that both economic warfare and military strikes are effective” against Iran.

On another note, the US President expressed his belief that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is still alive. In a television interview, he said, “I don’t believe he died. He was severely injured. The left side of his body, his arm, his leg, everything. He was severely injured. But I don’t believe he died.” He added, “I believe the war with Iran will end soon, because the Strait of Hormuz is open. Many ships are passing through it now, and we are allowing them to pass. There are no more mines... We have removed all the mines, and the strait is now operational.”

In a separate matter, the US President said that CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow was “quasi-routine,” hinting that the visit discussed efforts to end the war in Ukraine. He added, “It was quasi-routine... We would like to see the war in Ukraine end,” emphasizing that the visit was not related to Iran or Russian threats to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Meanwhile, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer John Helly confirmed that his country will continue to work with the United States and its partners to increase economic pressure on Iran. In a statement issued one day after his US counterpart Scott Bessent announced the “Economic Outcast” operation, Minister Helly said, “We have imposed more than 240 sanctions on Iran to prevent it from exploiting the global economy and the UK’s financial system, and to prevent it from developing its nuclear program and reducing its destabilizing activities.” He clarified that Iranian activities threaten the British people and national security, “and for this reason, we are prepared to continue working with the United States and our other partners to increase economic pressure on Iran.” He affirmed his country’s support for “US efforts to reach a diplomatic solution, alongside our welcome for increased pressure on Iran through the ‘Economic Outcast’ operation.” Helly added, “We will continue to work with our partners to protect our interests and take the necessary steps to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and combat Iran’s dangerous activities.”

For his part, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the United States “will achieve nothing” through the new sanctions it announced against his country. The semi-official ISNA news agency quoted Pezeshkian as saying yesterday, “Given the measures taken by the government, America will not achieve anything through economic pressure at this stage, just as it failed to achieve anything during the war.”

In a related development, the Iranian presidency reported that Pezeshkian participated in a meeting of the Central Bank the day before yesterday, noting that the meeting discussed reports on “executive measures to steer the country’s economy in a wartime and post-war environment,” following recent US escalation of economic pressure on Tehran.