The incompetency of the US administration is beyond ridiculous
What Trump said about the war in Iran from the Oval Office today
President Donald Trump took questions about Iran and the Middle East after signing an executive order at the White House today.
Here are the toplines:
- The president said he will “soon” announce countries that have agreed to help the US reopen the Strait of Hormuz, even as he acknowledged many allies have so far rejected his overtures.
- Asked whether he was surprised he wasn’t briefed that Iran could strike neighboring countries, Trump told reporters, “No, the greatest experts — nobody thought they were going to hit.”
- The war won’t be finished this week, Trump said, but that it “won’t be long.” The US president said that the conflict will be “wrapped up soon.”
- Trump’s trip to China this month will be delayed by “a month or so,” he said. “We’ve got a war going on. I think it’s important that I be here,” Trump said. The president has urged China to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
- Meantime, Vice President JD Vance deflected when pressed about his past criticism of intervening in the Middle East, instead saying he trusts the president “to get the job done.”
Former US presidents have not talked to Trump on Iran, aides say, disputing Trump's claim
President Donald Trump claimed twice today that he had recently spoken to a former US president who praised his actions in Iran, saying: “I wish I did what you did.”
A spokesman for Clinton told CNN that no recent conversations have taken place between Clinton and Trump — about Iran or anything else. Aides to Bush, Obama and Biden offered similar sentiments on Monday, saying there is no record of any communications with Trump.
Diplomats express frustration US not using traditional diplomatic channels in Iran crisis
Some American, European and Asian diplomats are growing increasingly frustrated with the Trump administration’s refusal to use traditional diplomatic channels when it comes to the Iran war — particularly as President Donald Trump himself is leading a pressure campaign to secure support to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
US and allied diplomats CNN spoke to didn’t have a clear answer when asked who is leading the administration’s effort to shore up support to reopen the critical waterway at the working level.
“DJT?” one US diplomat said, suggesting that the president himself is leading the charge.
White House officials say Trump has rebuffed efforts to restart Iran talks, for now
Iranian officials have reached out directly to the president’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and others in the Trump administration in recent days attempting to reopen a diplomatic channel, two senior White House officials told CNN on Monday.
But President Donald Trump advised the team that he did not want to negotiate now, the officials said. And Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who the White House officials said tried to reach Witkoff, denied he had any contact with the president’s envoy in recent days.
“My last contact with Mr. Witkoff was prior to his employer’s decision to kill diplomacy with another illegal military attack on Iran. Any claim to the contrary appears geared solely to mislead oil traders and the public,” Araghchi wrote on X on Monday.
