Following a White House meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Vice President JD Vance, President Donald Trump said Monday the war with Iran militarily is effectively over.
Trump made a surprise appearance in the briefing room, where he said he sees positive momentum in efforts to reach a deal. In a Truth Social post, he called a return to US strikes quite unlikely and said Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf states want the current situation to continue. He added that US forces remain ready to act if conditions change.
The thousands of US troops moved to waters off Iran remain in place, and Trump did not signal any pullback. Their mission is to choke off Iranian oil exports through a naval blockade. US forces hit Iranian targets, air defenses among them, on at least two occasions over the past seven days, and on Saturday they disabled a commercial vessel that Washington says tried to run the blockade.
Sponsored · Selkirk Copper Mines
The Qatari prime minister reportedly handed Trump a two-day Iranian proposal to end the fighting. Two government officials from the region said Qatar also delivered proposals covering Iran’s nuclear work last week. The White House would not comment on the proposals.
Iranian officials waved off Trump’s comments as a diversion. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, accused Washington of spreading false claims about imaginary talks. Tehran has listed seven demands for ending the war, among them lifting sanctions, freeing frozen funds and halting hostilities everywhere, including Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
Related: Rubio Calls Iran’s Demands ‘Outrageous and Ridiculous,’ Says Talks Have Not Been Productive
Trump has several times said he was on the verge of ordering heavier attacks if Iran rejected US terms, then stepped back. Voters went to the polls last week after eight months of war and a jump in fuel prices, and Republicans lost control of the House and Senate.
