President Trump said he has no regrets about starting the war with Iran, arguing that a nuclear-armed Iran would have posed a bigger threat than the conflict itself. Washington is meanwhile tightening the economic squeeze on Tehran, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent flagging new sanctions against a large bank next Monday.
Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Thursday that he would attack Iran again even knowing the political cost heading into the midterms. According to CNBC: "If I had it to do again, I would do exactly what I did."
When Ingraham suggested he would be cruising to a midterms victory without the war, Trump replied that a nuclear-armed Iran would use such a weapon. He added that Iran would wipe out Israel and the Middle East and start hitting U.S. cities if it obtained a nuclear weapon.
Markets brace for a longer war
His remarks land as markets brace for a longer Iran war, after a Wall Street Journal report said top White House advisors had discussed with Trump the possibility that the conflict could drag on beyond his current term. Trump has repeatedly said the war will end immediately after the midterm elections and that oil and gas prices will fall as a result, a claim he has now repeated for months.
In separate comments to NewsNation, Trump denied that any U.S. assets were damaged, after Iran claimed it had hit multiple U.S. fighter aircraft at a base in Jordan, flatly saying there was no damage at all when asked about the reports.
Treasury tightens the squeeze on Iran's banks
Washington is also stepping up efforts to cut Iran off from its financing sources. Bessent said the administration will sanction a large bank on Monday, timing the move to follow the 9/11 anniversary out of respect for victims.
Bessent said the U.S. has already sanctioned and closed the Dubai branches of Egypt's second-largest bank over an alleged $1.8 billion transfer to Iran, and separately sanctioned an unnamed Turkish bank described as the country's largest, which had also been supplying funds to Tehran.
Asked how long Iran could hold out under the pressure, Trump said he did not know if the country could continue, but that the conflict would get settled right after the elections, or possibly sooner.
Source: CNBC
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