Trump on the Iran war: 'Virtually over,' but not this week — oil price falls significantly

US President Donald Trump made a prime-time TV appearance and then held a last-minute press conference at his golf club in Doral as oil prices spiked after Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz.

“US President Donald Trump responds to the sharply rising oil price with a TV appearance and a press conference”

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In an interview with CBS he said the war was 'as good as over,' and at Doral he told Republican lawmakers 'It will be over pretty quickly,' calling the war 'only a short excursion.'

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His remarks coincided with Brent crude falling back below $100 to about $90 in the evening after having climbed to almost $120 earlier.

Global stock markets plunged.

The article says his Doral appearance sometimes contradicted earlier statements and left his Iran strategy unclear.

Trump downplayed higher oil and gasoline prices, saying they would not really affect the US.

The article notes the price per gallon at US pumps has on average risen by 50 cents and that the cost of living is shaping preparations for the November midterm elections.

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He partly backed away from his "as good as over" language when asked if the war would end this week, answering "No" but saying it would end "very soon," without giving a date.

He asserted the major danger had been over for three days.

His comments contradicted a US Department of Defense post on X that said "We have only just begun to fight."

Trump earlier estimated the war would last "four to five weeks" but also said it could last "much longer."

At the press conference he argued "It is the beginning of building a new country."

He claimed Iran "has no navy, no air force, and no air-defense equipment" and said "Everything was destroyed."

He said Iran had been close to completing a nuclear bomb before US-Israeli airstrikes: "They would have had a nuclear weapon within two to four weeks."

The article notes US and Israel had already destroyed important Iranian nuclear facilities in June of last year and states it is unclear whether Iran is even still able to further enrich its near-weapons-grade uranium.

He warned the new leadership led by Modschtaba Chamenei, successor to his slain father Ayatollah Ali Chamenei, that "We will hit them so hard that it will be impossible for them or others who help them to ever rebuild that part of the world."

He said he had demanded a say before the appointment.

On sanctions and energy responses, the article reports US officials are considering easing sanctions on Russia and releasing strategic oil reserves to calm prices.

“US President Donald Trump responds to the sharply rising oil price with a TV appearance and a press conference”

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Trump said he would lift certain sanctions until the Strait of Hormuz was reopened but offered no details.

The US last week issued a 30-day waiver to allow tankers currently stuck with Russian oil to sell that oil to India to reduce pressure on the global market.

Trump also spoke by phone for the first time since December with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin about the wars in Iran and Ukraine.

Trump described the call as positive, said Putin had offered help in the Middle East, and said he told Putin they could be more helpful by ending the war between Ukraine and Russia.

Putin's foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov said the call lasted an hour, was factual, open and constructive, and that Washington had requested the conversation.