Trump says US won the Iran war, Rubio reports talks going nowhere

Donald Trump declared the US has won its war with Iran, telling reporters on Sunday that renewed fighting was “highly unlikely.” “We won in Iran,” he said. “It’s just a matter of closing it out now.” The same day, US forces struck Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said Iran is collapsing financially and militarily, pointing to three American aircraft carriers in the region and infrastructure targets already identified, including power plants and bridges. He claimed Iranian inflation hit 301% this year; Iran’s own figures put it at nearly 90% year-on-year in September. His final call on further strikes, he said, “depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement.” “We have 38 bridges in our sight that we can knock down in literally one hour,” Trump added, saying he doesn’t like “ripping down bridges” because rebuilding could take a decade.

Trump also said the US has lost no troops. “Again, we haven’t lost anybody. No soldiers,” he said. The Pentagon’s official count is 23 service members killed since the war began in late February.

Explosions were reported Sunday evening in Mahshahr, Qeshm, Sirik and Bandar Abbas. Iran’s Tasnim news agency confirmed a US projectile hit Qeshm Island and said no other part of Hormozgan province was struck, attributing sounds in Bandar Abbas and Sirik to Iranian security operations in the strait. Iran’s navy said an oil tanker hit a naval mine crossing the strait and caught fire on what it called a prohibited route.

On Saturday, CENTCOM reported an attack on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Oman that it said had repeatedly tried to breach the US naval blockade, and announced a new task force to stop Iran moving advanced weapons by land. The IRGC said two oil tankers burned after hitting mines in the strait. Trump described the effort as running at full capacity alongside “the largest naval blockade in history.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio reported no progress in talks, calling Iran’s demands unacceptable and in some cases “overblown, ridiculous and really unrealistic,” while describing US actions in the strait as defensive. “I wouldn’t say we’re on the verge of a breakthrough,” he said. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei pushed back on Monday, saying “pursuing the rights and interests of the Iranian nation was not unreasonable,” and that Washington must end sanctions, the blockade and the war on all fronts before talks can begin. Iran’s two-day proposal to restore security to the strait stays on the table, he said. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that the Democratic win in the US midterms paused mediation, with intermediaries staying away for days, and that Washington must now choose between accepting Iran’s terms or resuming the war. “Americans are evidently sick and tired of Israel bamboozling US administrations into Forever Wars,” he posted. Qatar said Trump phoned Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani about lowering regional tensions, and the White House said Trump will meet Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani there. Trump told CBS that Iran was close to a deal before the midterm result gave Tehran hope, that he isn’t looking to widen the war, and that an undisclosed Iranian underground facility is under US surveillance and could be hit within an hour, though he said that isn’t needed now.