U.S. President Donald Trump said he expects the war with Iran to conclude within “two or three weeks.”
He made these remarks while signing an executive order at the White House on March 31. Trump also said that “France and other countries,” such as China, should “protect themselves” regarding passage through the Strait of Hormuz, which has effectively been closed by Iran in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli strikes that began against Iran on February 28.
“We hit them hard. We eliminated many of the radicalized lunatics along the strait,” he claimed, adding that “within two weeks, maybe three, we will leave” the region.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also recently repeated several times that it is a matter of weeks, not months, for the conflict with Iran to end.
President Trump said that “we are currently negotiating with them,” adding that “we have seen regime change, although regime change was not one of my objectives.”
Tehran and Washington, DC have sent mixed messages regarding efforts to end the conflict.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, in an interview with Al Jazeera broadcast on April 1, said that no negotiations with the United States are taking place and that Tehran “has not responded” to Washington’s reported 15-point plan to end the war.
“We have received messages from the Americans, some directly, some through our friends in the region, and we will respond to these messages whenever necessary,” he said.
“There is no basis for negotiations [with the U.S.],” he added, noting that some messages have certainly been exchanged directly with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff.
According to reports, the U.S. plan reiterates Washington’s demands that Iran dismantle its nuclear facilities, limit its missile capabilities, and stop supporting allied forces in the region.
Unofficially, Tehran has responded sharply to Washington’s 15-point plan, saying that the U.S. conditions are excessive and that it will end the war when it decides to do so and if its own conditions are met, insisting that it has the right to develop its ballistic missile program.
