US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (July 8) said he did not believe full-scale conflict with Iran would resume following recent military strikes exchanged by both sides, expressing confidence that any further escalation would be brief.
Speaking to reporters in Ankara after the NATO summit, Trump said he did not expect the fighting to reignite. “I don’t think it’s going to start again. I think it’s going to go very quickly. They hit a couple of ships, and so we hit them much harder,” he said.
Trump added that any future developments would be short-lived and claimed they would ultimately improve regional security. “Anything that happens is going to be over very quickly … and will only make it safer, including for oil,” he said.
The US president also repeated his assertion that he remains a primary target for Iran. “I’m number one on the kill list for Iran,” Trump said. Defending his handling of the conflict after the
NATO summit, Trump again said he believed Tehran continued to view him as its top target.
“They had leaders; they’re gone… Now they have another set of leaders. They may be gone,” Trump told reporters. “And you know what, I may be gone too, because I’m their number one target,” he added.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran should engage with Trump “in his own language”, arguing that the US president understands the “language of force” better.
His remarks came amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran following the recent exchange of military strikes, even as Trump suggested he did not expect the confrontation to develop into a prolonged conflict.