The US is not setting any deadlines for concluding the war against Iran, President Donald Trump has said.
The remarks contrast with Trump’s earlier claim, made shortly after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, that the fighting would last “four to five weeks.” He also repeatedly said over the past month that the war would be over “very soon.”
Read more: More confusion looms over Strait of Hormuz after Iran attacks three ships near waterway
The US president told Fox News on Wednesday that there is “no time frame” and no rush to end the conflict.
“People say I want to get it over because of the midterms, not true,” Trump said.
Trump’s approval rating on the economy has fallen to a new low of 30% as energy shortages caused by the Iran war continue to drive prices higher, according to an AP-NORC poll published earlier this week.
On Tuesday, the president prolonged the ceasefire with Tehran indefinitely, while keeping the US blockade of Iranian ports in place.
The announcement came just hours before the expiration of the two-week truce between the sides. Earlier the same day, Iran opted out of talks with an American delegation in Pakistan, arguing that any discussions are pointless as long as Washington’s “bullying” continues.
Trump told Fox News that there is “no time pressure” when it comes to the ceasefire or setting a new date for talks with Tehran. His goal is to “get a good deal for the American people,” he added.
”The blockade scares [Iran] even more than the bombing,” Trump claimed. “They’ve been bombed for years but the blockade they hate.”
The president also called Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghachi “a smart man,” who will “be there when talks get underway again.”
Read more: Iran attacks ship in Strait of Hormuz, complicating diplomatic efforts to resume talks
Iran has said it is prepared to fight the US “until complete victory.” Tehran’s envoy to Beijing, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, told RT India earlier this week that there will be no talks until the American blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for some 25% of global crude oil trade, continues. What the Americans expect from Iran “is not dialogue, but surrender,” and that is not going to happen, he insisted.
Tehran has further tightened its control of the strait since Trump’s announcement of an indefinite truce, seizing at least two ships and escorting them to Iranian ports, Reuters reported on Thursday.
