Trump Downplays Iran War Past 6-Month Mark as "Minor Matter," "Just a Conflict"

▲ U.S. President Donald Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump stated on the 4th (local time) that there is a possibility of soon striking "Kuh-e Kolangi," suspected of housing Iran's underground nuclear facilities.

Speaking in response to reporters at an executive order signing ceremony at the White House that day, President Trump said, "Iran will not have a nuclear weapon," adding, "We may be hitting Kuh-e Kolangi pretty soon, if something is going on over there."

Regarding the war with Iran, President Trump said, "We call it a military conflict," and "It's a minor matter for us, not a big deal."

President Trump's remarks are in line with Vice President JD Vance drawing a line the previous day against defining the current situation as a "war," saying, "We are not going to call this a war."

President Trump emphasized, "I would call it intermittent [military conflict]. We intermittently strike [Iran]," and "We are not fighting right now. There is no battle."

He also claimed, "There are no mines whatsoever [in the Strait of Hormuz]," adding, "They [Iran] had some mines, but we cleared them all out with mine sweepers."

When a reporter challenged him by asking if prolonged troop deployment and the deaths of 18 U.S. service members were insignificant, President Trump engaged in a back-and-forth, asking, "How long were we in Vietnam? We are currently in our fifth month [in Iran]."

Contrary to his remarks, the war in Iran has now surpassed six months.

President Trump emphasized, "Do you know what we did for five months? They are not going to have a nuclear weapon. That is what we did."

President Trump stated that through U.S. Space Force surveillance, "We know everybody that moves in Kuh-e Kolangi. We know everybody that moves all over Iran," adding, "If anything goes wrong, we hit them hard."

Meanwhile, President Trump announced that his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are scheduled to present a new peace proposal to Ukraine and Russia.

When asked whether the proposal includes the territorial concessions of Ukraine demanded by Russia, President Trump answered, "No," and added, "We have a vision for peace."

"We sent them over there to see if we can get something done," President Trump said, expressing hope that "there might be a pretty good chance we can pull it off."

Regarding CIA Director John Ratcliffe's top-secret visit to Moscow on August 26, President Trump had previously mentioned, "Now something might come of it [in ending the war]."

According to foreign media reports, Witkoff and Kushner are scheduled to visit the Russian capital of Moscow on September 5 and then head to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on September 6.

Regarding the suspected sabotage incident in Germany, when pointed out whether Russia might have attacked NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) territory, President Trump said, "I don't think Putin would do that."

"I talk to him. I know him very well," President Trump added, "Putin is not going to try to attack NATO territory."

Some observers have raised speculations that the background of CIA Director Ratcliffe's visit to Russia was intended as a "warning" not to attack European NATO member states.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)

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