Trump: The war in Iran will end when I want it to

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would not hesitate to launch military strikes against Iran again if presented with the same circumstances, describing the decision to attack the Islamic Republic as one of the most important achievements of his presidency. Speaking at an election campaign rally at the Port of Corpus Christi in Texas, Trump also asserted that he would determine when the conflict ends, emphasizing that any conclusion must guarantee that Iran will never acquire nuclear weapons.

“Somebody asked me yesterday, it’s very interesting, ‘If you had to do it again, would you have attacked Iran?’ I said absolutely," Trump told supporters. “It’s one of the greatest things I ever did," he added. The President also addressed the economic consequences of the war, predicting that gasoline prices would soon decline significantly. Trump characterized the current financial burden on Americans as “short-term pain" that would ultimately give way to longer-term economic benefits.

“You’re going to see very soon, ‘What the hell happened to gasoline? It’s so cheap,’" he said. Asked about the timeline for ending the military confrontation, Trump maintained that the decision rested with him and reiterated that preventing a nuclear-armed Iran remained his overriding objective. "Somebody asked me before, when will the war in Iran end? I said, whenever I want it to end. It'll be very quick, but we have to have it end properly, with total and complete - a total statement, they will never have a nuclear weapon.

Number one state sponsor [of terrorism]. They will never have a nuclear weapon." Trump's latest remarks came amid speculation that Washington could resume strikes against Iran either before or after next Tuesday's midterm elections. The President has made the military campaign against Tehran a recurring subject at his election rallies in recent days, defending the operation as necessary to protect American security. During a rally in Mississippi on Monday, Trump argued that Iran's development of increasingly sophisticated missiles, combined with its nuclear ambitions, had made American military intervention unavoidable.

He acknowledged the technological capabilities of Iranian weapons manufacturers but emphasized the damage American forces had inflicted on the country's military. "Iranians make great weapons. They are very smart people, but we beat the s--t out of them," the President stated, adding, "Iranians now have a missile that essentially reached Europe. They weren’t supposed to. We said, 'Where the hell did they get that?'" Trump warned that Iran's missile capabilities could eventually threaten American cities, specifically mentioning San Diego and Los Angeles.

"And they'd hit our cities. They’d hit San Diego. They’d hit Los Angeles. They'd hit our cities too. So somebody had to do it. It had to be done," Trump stated. He also rejected the suggestion that Washington bore responsibility for initiating the confrontation. “We didn’t start the war with Iran. Iran started the war with us," he added. The President went on to criticize an earlier ceasefire agreement, arguing that the pause in fighting had accomplished little and that he had been skeptical of it from the outset.

"We did a little ceasefire, which I never liked very much. I considered it a waste of time. The ceasefire was just a waste of time, but you like to listen to professionals. We wanted to be nice, but it was just a waste of time as far as I'm concerned," he continued. Trump had also addressed the possibility of additional military action during an exchange with reporters on Saturday, when he declined to disclose whether another strike was imminent.

While acknowledging that renewed attacks remained under consideration, he stressed that a diplomatic agreement with Iran was still possible. "Let me tell you, while we're thinking about doing it, and maybe tomorrow, do you really think I'm going to tell you? If I'm going to do it, and there's a possibility I will, there's also a possibility we'll have a nice, big, beautiful agreement. They want to make a deal. But the problem is, will they hold the deal?"