President Donald Trump on Friday said Iranian leaders have not yet reached a deal with the U.S.to end the ongoing war because they’re “strong” and “proud,” but ultimately, he added, “they’ve got no choice” except to reach an agreement.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.“They’re strong, they’re proud, there are things they never thought they’d be doing that they’re going to have to do.
They’ve got no choice, and it takes a little while,” the president told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker during a sit-down interview in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.Trump’s remarks come as U.S.and Iranian leaders have been negotiating to end the war, which entered its fourth month last week.The two nations agreed to a ceasefire in April that has been extended several times, though tensions flared in recent days when the U.S.
and Iran traded strikes near the Strait of Hormuz.Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday told House lawmakers that the ongoing military operation, which the Trump administration has dubbed “Operation Epic Fury,” “has concluded.”He added that the strikes earlier in the week were “defensive in nature,” telling members of Congress that they came in response to Iran’s attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz.“In order to protect our own forces, we don’t just strike the drones, we strike the people who launch those drones.These are completely defensive in nature, but they are happening in response to an Iranian action.
If they don’t shoot at those ships, we don’t shoot, but we have to respond,” Rubio said.The ongoing conflict led Iran months ago to shutter the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial maritime passageway for oil tankers.The strait’s closure has led to soaring oil prices globally and surging gas prices in the U.S., putting pressure on Trump and Republican leaders in Washington to ease economic pressure for Ameri...