Trump: U.S. Will Win Iran War ‘Very Soon’ as Mediated Talks Continue — ‘One Way or the Other’

President Donald Trump said Monday the war with Iran will end with a U.S. victory “very soon,” declaring the outcome will be decided “one way or the other” as Washington and Tehran remain engaged through mediators over a potential agreement addressing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program. After confirming that his team had been in contact with Iran through mediators earlier Monday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he expected the standoff to be resolved quickly. “We’re going to win,” Trump said. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s going to be one way or the other. And it’s going to go pretty quickly.” The renewed diplomacy comes days after Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days in exchange for a series of U.S. concessions, including lifting the naval blockade and easing economic pressure on Tehran. Qatari officials were shuttling between the two sides Monday, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi meeting the intermediaries in New York as negotiations continued without direct U.S.-Iranian talks. U.S. officials had said Trump was prepared to provide sanctions relief and release frozen Iranian funds in exchange for concrete progress on the nuclear issue, describing the latest discussions as “positive and constructive” while stressing there would be no agreement without movement on Iran’s nuclear program. Trump, however, directly denied the reported offer Monday evening, declaring, “I offered them NOTHING!” The two sides remain apart over the timing of their commitments and which must move first, with Washington seeking assurances that Tehran would honor a new agreement after the collapse of their previous memorandum of understanding this summer. A Trump administration official told Politico that Tehran appeared to be demanding extensive U.S. concessions upfront while leaving Washington to trust that Iran would fulfill its commitments afterward. “That’s crazy. How can we trust them?” the official said. Washington also objects to provisions it believes could ultimately leave Tehran in control of the Strait of Hormuz and able to profit from the waterway, according to the official, following months of Iranian attacks and efforts to restrict commercial shipping. A more fundamental disagreement remains over whether Tehran is prepared to make nuclear concessions at all. U.S. officials said Monday that Iran had indicated flexibility on nuclear issues, an assessment Tehran subsequently disputed. An informed Iranian official told the state-run Press TV that reports of such a shift were “false,” while ABC News separately reported that Iran had not indicated a willingness to bring the nuclear issue into the negotiations. Tehran has instead centered its latest proposal on reopening the Strait of Hormuz in return for relief from the U.S. blockade and sanctions and access to frozen Iranian assets, while Washington is pressing to make nuclear concessions part of any broader settlement. The administration is reportedly seeking commitments that include renewed access for nuclear inspectors, according to the Associated Press. Trump tied those demands Monday to his original decision to launch military action against Iran, arguing that allowing Tehran to acquire a nuclear weapon would have posed an intolerable threat to Israel, the broader Middle East, Europe and the United States. “If you want to see turmoil and a travesty, let them take out a city with a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, before reiterating the administration’s bottom line: “They cannot have a nuclear weapon.” Washington is pressing those demands as U.S. officials point to mounting economic pressure on Tehran and increasing commercial traffic through the Strait as evidence that the administration’s negotiating leverage is growing. “The Strait of Hormuz traffic continues to rise and the blockade and sanctions continue to degrade Iran’s position,” a U.S. official told Fox News on Monday, adding: “The U.S. position gets stronger every day.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered another measure of that pressure Monday, pointing to the Iranian rial’s fall to roughly 2.44 million to the U.S. dollar as Operation Economic Outcast continues to squeeze Tehran financially. “Operation Economic Outcast has caused the rial to hit record lows,” Bessent said. “We will continue to degrade the Iranian regime’s ability to fund terrorism and develop a nuclear weapon.” The currency slide follows Bessent’s warning Sunday that Iran is also nearing the end of its remaining oil available for sale abroad. He said only about 15 million barrels remained on the water headed toward China and estimated that within roughly two weeks Tehran would have “nothing left to trade for anything.” The administration is also seeking to undercut Tehran’s attempt to use control of the Strait as negotiating leverage. CENTCOM on Monday rejected an Iranian commander’s assertion that Tehran has “full control” of the Strait, citing thousands of ships and more than one billion barrels of oil that have passed through the waterway in recent months. “Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz,” the command said. Trump nevertheless continues to leave the diplomatic channel open, saying Sunday that he expected further talks even after rejecting Tehran’s latest proposal as unacceptable. His comments Monday made clear that the negotiations have not altered the administration’s central demand that Iran be prevented from obtaining a nuclear weapon, while Washington insists that Tehran make concrete nuclear concessions as part of any broader agreement. For now, the mediated talks are continuing as Washington intensifies its economic isolation campaign, with Bessent warning that Tehran will have “nothing left to trade for anything” within roughly two weeks. The possibility of renewed U.S. military action also remains on the table as Iran has yet to agree to the nuclear concessions the administration is demanding. Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.