United States President Donald Trump has signalled that he considers the US-Israeli war against Iran “effectively” at an end, after meeting with mediators from Qatar.
In a surprise briefing on Monday, Trump reiterated his position that the US had destroyed Iran’s military. But his remarks suggested he faced pressure from allies in the Middle East to bring hostilities to a close.
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“Iran, militarily, is effectively over. We’re just keeping it the status quo,” he said. “We’re doing that really at the behest of countries that are their neighbours.”
The US president clarified that the “status quo” would involve continuing the US naval blockade against Iranian ports, as well as the newly announced Task Force Iron Gate, which seeks to cut off trade by land and through the Caspian Sea.
“Much was discussed with respect to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump said.
“Most importantly, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and others would prefer the status quo, that we remain as is — in other words, a continuation of the greatest naval blockade in the history of our country. Probably in the history of the world.”
Trump’s comments come shortly after he and Vice President JD Vance hosted Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani at the White House to discuss the Iran war.
The prime minister posted on social media that he was “grateful for the positive discussions on reaching a deal and bringing peace to the region”.
It is unclear whether Trump’s latest statements significantly change US posture in the war. Trump himself declined to commit to any long-term ceasefire.
“I don’t guarantee anything,” he told the White House briefing room. “But if we do have to go back in, we are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
Iranian officials, meanwhile, dismissed Trump’s latest remarks as a distraction. Both sides have claimed victory throughout the conflict.
“The war on Iran has already wrecked the US government. But Washington flails like a desperate gambler,” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei wrote in a post on social media.
“FOLD YOUR HAND. STOP manufacturing FAKE NEWS about imaginary talks.”
Separately, through Iran’s state-aligned Tasnim News Agency, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had called for an end to the situation, which he described as “neither war nor peace”.
Pezeshkian added that Iran was open to further negotiations but would not be coerced. “We will not surrender to force and bullying,” he said.
Since the war on Iran began on February ۲۸, the conflict has spilled into surrounding countries and roiled international trade.
Almost as soon as the US and Israel began their attacks, Iran moved to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for fossil fuels and fertiliser, among other goods.
Iran has also responded to US and Israeli strikes with missile and drone fire in countries like Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE, with many of the attacks targeting US military installations.
Other, related conflicts have since emerged. Saudi Arabia has renewed its fighting with the Iran-backed Houthis, and Israel began its occupation of southern Lebanon, as well as deadly airstrikes.
In the nearly nine months since the war began, the US offensive against Iran has grown sporadic, with intermittent exchanges of fire. In recent days, for instance, the Trump administration announced “minor strikes” against Iran’s Qeshm Island.
It also offered a $۲۰m reward for the “information about Iran’s nuclear program, including its facilities, equipment, and associated personnel”.
After the Twelve-Day War in June ۲۰۲۵, Trump had claimed that Iran’s uranium enrichment programme had been obliterated. But he has since made curtailing Iran’s nuclear programme a central premise for the ongoing war.
Iran has long denied seeking a nuclear weapon, maintaining its uranium enrichment programme is for the purposes of civilian energy generation.
Officials in Iran, meanwhile, have pushed for the US to accept seven conditions in order to end the war.
They include lifting the US naval blockade, reparations for war-related damage, an end to sanctions against its economy and a cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon and Gaza.
Qatar has served as one of several key mediators in the conflict. Sheikh Mohammed, the prime minister, also serves as foreign minister and has been known to act as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran.
In Monday’s closed-door meeting, he reportedly presented Trump with a two-day framework from Iran to end the war.
Afterwards, reporters asked Trump in the briefing room, “Why not just declare an end to the conflict and be done with it?”
Trump framed the continued US blockade as a question of regional security. He also called for a “long-term solution”, rather than a short-term one.
“We have some great allies there, and we have to make sure they’re not hurt, and they would be hurt,” he said.
“They are right now a lot safer than they were six months ago because Iran’s been very much decapitated. But there’s still the bully of the Middle East a little bit.”
