President Donald Trump sought to reassure voters on the eve of the midterm elections that the conflict with Iran is not a "forever war" but a "soft war" that the United States could end at any time. Speaking Monday on Fox News' "Hannity," Trump said: "We're not fighting a war … When was the last time we fired anything? This isn't a war, this is a very soft war."
Iran could become a deciding issue as voters go to the polls on Tuesday, with Americans still grappling with surging gas prices and the economic fallout from a conflict that began eight months ago. The financial toll has also emerged as a political liability for Republicans, as the Pentagon estimates the war has cost taxpayers more than $47 billion. Trump dismissed the figure as "peanuts" and said the war was necessary to keep Iran from building a nuclear weapon.
The comments came shortly after the United States struck Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, following an Iranian attack on a U.S. aircraft. Officials confirmed to Fox News that the strike was "defensive" and did not signal a return to full-blown U.S. military strikes in Iran. Reporting by Axios' global affairs correspondent Barak Ravid said a U.S. Army fighter jet destroyed a surface-to-air missile launcher on the island after Iran's Revolutionary Guards fired an anti-aircraft missile from it.
Trump told Hannity there was "no hurry" to resume strikes but warned that the United States would give Iran "the hammer" soon if the latest round of peace talks failed. "With [Operation] Midnight Hammer, we bombed out all of their potential nuclear power," he said, adding that the administration might have to go after Pickaxe Mountain, which he described as "not a big deal." He said it "could happen if they don't make a deal," while adding, "they want to make a deal very badly, and there is a very good chance we make a deal."
Trump characterized Iran's military capacity as severely diminished, saying its military, navy, air force and anti-aircraft capabilities were "gone" and that Tehran had few missiles and drones with little capacity to build more. He said the United States was negotiating from a position of "total strength" and that the conflict could be ended "at any time."
The strike drew sharp criticism from Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council, who said in a statement that after eight months of what he called an illegal war, there had been hope a diplomatic agreement could end the conflict through negotiations. "These deeply alarming revelations suggest we may be heading in precisely the opposite direction," he said. A Fox News poll also found that 71 percent of respondents think the Trump administration lacks a plan to end the Iran war.