US President Donald Trump has reiterated his assertion that the war with Iran will end “whenever I want,” but insisted that Iran cannot acquire nuclear weapons.
“Someone once asked me, ‘When is the Iran war going to end?'” President Trump said at a rally in Lubbock, Texas. I said, “Whenever I want to end it.” ”
“It’s going to be very quick, but we have to end it properly,” Trump said, making a “complete statement” that Iran will never acquire nuclear weapons.
The remarks came as the president grapples with poll numbers near record lows due to rising energy costs and affordability issues as the US heads into the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
President Trump’s approval rating now stands at 32%, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Monday.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said on October 12 that the war has cost American households an average of $2,000 so far, of which $1,100 is due to increased energy costs, $540 due to increased interest costs, and $360 due to increased military spending.
The conflict with Iran shows no signs of abating, and President Trump has said he will soon decide whether to “make a deal” or “end it” with Iran.
Earlier this month, the United States evacuated its diplomats from Saudi Arabia, and the New York Times reported that American and Israeli militaries laid out concrete plans for a “short but intensive” campaign against Iran after the midterm elections.
The Hill reported that an October 16 U.S. Central Command estimate also revealed that the cost of the Iran war had ballooned to $47 billion, about $3 billion more than the previous figure.
The bulk of the cost was reportedly $29 million for munitions replacement. The conflict between the United States and Iran is causing a “shortage” of American munitions, even though President Trump claimed on September 3 that the United States has “virtually unlimited” ammunition.
The huge cost of the war does not include the cost of damaged military bases in the Middle East, estimated at $184 million as of June 29, according to the Chief Inspector General’s report to Congress.
This figure counts damage caused by Iranian attacks to US diplomatic facilities in four countries: Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
