Trump after meeting with Qatari PM says he believes war with Iran is militarily ‘effectively over’

By AAMER MADHANI, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday told reporters he believes the war in Iran “militarily is effectively over.”

The president made a surprise visit to the White House briefing room after meeting with Qatar’s prime minister earlier in the day.

“Iran militarily is effectively over,” Trump said. “We’re just keeping it the status quo.”

Trump added that Iran has been “decapitated” but said he is still looking to make sure there’s a long-term solution to ensuring that Iran’s nuclear program is defanged.

The president offered some of his most definitive comments about moving away from his threat to resume strikes on Iran after the U.S. midterm elections passed.

The president’s Republican Party lost both chambers of Congress to Democrats in last week’s elections. The election was shadowed by dissatisfaction among the American electorate over the 8-month-old war, which has led to a surge in fuel prices that’s impacted nearly ever sector of the global economy.

Trump at his news conference added that there was “positive momentum” toward ending the war without going into detail.

“The military action doesn’t seem to be a very necessary thing, but we’re locked and loaded, ready to go for any reason that changes,” Trump said.

Trump told CNN in a phone interview Sunday that as long as the U.S. sees progress in negotiations with the Iranians and they sign a “strong agreement,” it’s “highly unlikely it’s going to be necessary” to resume strikes.

Trump said, however, that the U.S. had identified infrastructure targets, including 38 bridges, that it would strike if military action resumes.

The U.S. military, meanwhile, still has carried out limited strikes on Iran, including against its air defenses, at least twice over the past week. It also fired on and disabled a commercial ship Saturday that the U.S. says was trying to breach its naval blockade on Iranian ports.