Trump says Iran war is 'effectively over' militarily, further strikes unlikely

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that "Iran militarily is effectively over" and pointed to "positive momentum" in negotiations to end the Middle East conflict. Speaking to reporters in the White House press briefing room, he signalled possible de-escalation in the war between the United States and Iran, although no official end to the fighting has been declared.

Trump said the current situation was being kept at the status quo, and that Washington was doing so at the request of Iran's neighbouring countries. He described renewed US attacks on Iran as "highly unlikely", but added that the US was "locked and loaded" should circumstances change.

Asked why he would not formally announce an end to the war, the president said some Gulf allies could still face Iranian aggression. He said the US wanted to make sure those allies were not hurt, and suggested the US naval blockade of Iranian ports was helping make the region more secure.

Political context

Trump has previously said the war was militarily over, but his circumstances are now different. Last week the Republican Party suffered a bruising set of results in the US midterm elections, which senior figures, including Vice-President JD Vance, blamed on the Iran war.

Before the midterms, Trump said US forces had carried out what he called "minor strikes" on an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz. In an interview with the programme 60 Minutes that aired on Sunday, he said he did not currently see "any reason" to escalate the conflict.

Iranian officials have repeatedly expressed doubts about Trump's earlier comments on resolving the conflict.