Trump Says He May Ramp Up Military Hostilities With Iran

President Donald Trump defended his military offensive against the Iranian regime during an interview with Time that was published on Thursday.

The war has gone on for seven months and has raised speculation as to how and when it might end.

“You initially said that the war would take about six to eight weeks,” the interviewer said. “We're now entering the seventh month. Can you just explain, like, why is it taking so long?”

Trump replied, saying it was “Only because I wanted to go further.”

I took them out. I could have stopped then, but I wanted to go further. I didn't want them—because I met my timeline. If you look at what I did when we bombed the sites with a B2 bomber. Like we bombed those sites, and I call it nuclear dust—was under 1000s of tons of rubble. I could have stopped there, and I felt it was just inappropriate because—and they were itching to go on with their lives, if not there, someplace else. And so I went further. They're doing very poorly. Their economy is gone. Their inflation is at 300% or something like that. Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Everything's gone, and they want to make a deal, but I want to make the real deal.

The interviewer asked whether the American public misunderstood Trump’s timeline. “I feel like most people heard you say four to six weeks,” he said. 

🚨 HOLY CRAP! President Trump's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is costing Iran $400 MILLION PER DAY, per Fox

"$13 billion a MONTH! Plus, the Iranians can only store oil for about two weeks before they have to start SHUTTING OFF wells.

The Iranians can't outlast us. The… pic.twitter.com/3d2N0wotW4

— MAGA NEWS 🇺🇲🗞️ (@MAGAlwr5) October 1, 2026

“No, I think the press fed it to them, so that—look, we were in Vietnam for 21, 20, years,” Trump replied. “We were in Afghanistan for many years. We were in Korea for many. We're everywhere for many years. I'm in there now for six months, and I've destroyed their nuclear capability.”

When asked whether Trump would follow through on his threat to annihilate Iran, he answered, “Yeah, I would do that. It’s possible.”

The interviewer pressed, asking how the president of peace could call for “the annihilation of an entire people.”

“Because by annihilating Iran, we've created peace in the world,” Trump said. “With Iran, I don't think you could ever have peace.”

The conversation turned to a Defense Department report about munitions shortages.

“I would say it was mostly fake news,” Trump said.

However, the president acknowledged that “Some forms of ammunition are a little bit lower than other forms.” and explained, “We have that middle grade and upper middle grade, which is very powerful, which is stronger than it’s ever been before.”

There is ammunition that President Zelensky wouldn't take, but it's very powerful ammunition. He wouldn't take because he didn't have airplanes and things that you need for that ammunition. So what happened is that story started arriving. So now we have Raytheon. We have all of them. They're going. They're building plants all over the country, and they're doing a lot. They're working 24/7, and we're stocking up at levels we've never done before.

https://t.co/DSwh6iOKf4

Middle Eastern oil exports have rebounded to their highest levels since the Iran war began in February, as Gulf producers find ways around the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Shipments from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar,…

— فيديريستا (@Hakeemfederer) October 1, 2026

Movement through the Strait of Hormuz has remained severely restricted even as vessels are transporting their cargo around Iran’s forces. Oil and petroleum products flowing through the strait averaged about 13.1 million barrels per day last week. This represents just under 80 percent of the 17.1 million that moved through the waterway before the war.

Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.

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