Photo: EPA
During a Wednesday call with the leaders of the G7, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Iran will “soon capitulate.” The next day, Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, made his first public statement, pledging to continue resistance, according to Axios.
Sources said Trump told allies he had “eliminated a cancerous threat to all of us” and suggested that no Iranian officials remain with the authority to surrender.
Other leaders, however, urged Trump to quickly end the conflict, emphasizing that the Strait of Hormuz should be reopened as soon as possible. Trump responded that conditions in the strait were improving and commercial shipping should resume. That same night, at least two tankers were set on fire near the Iraqi coast.
Trump avoided specifying a timeline for the conflict. Some participants left the call believing he wants to end the war, while others felt the opposite.
Additionally, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and French President Emmanuel Macron urged Trump not to let Moscow profit or ease sanctions. Despite these concerns, the U.S. Treasury Department announced a one-month suspension of sanctions on Russian oil in transit, amid rising oil prices benefiting Russia.
