Trump calls Iran conflict a soft war, insists US holds the cards ahead of midterm elections

President Donald Trump sought to reassure voters the day before the midterm elections that Iran is not a “forever war,” but a “soft war” that the United States could end at any time.“We’re not fighting a war … When was the last time we fired anything? This isn’t a war, this is a very soft war,” Trump said Monday on “Hannity.”Iran could be a key deciding issue as voters go to the polls on Election Day Tuesday as Americans continue to grapple with surging gas prices and the economic fallout from the United States’ conflict, which began eight months ago.“What’s a war? A war is fighting.Take a look at World War I, World War II.

When was the last time you saw us fighting with them? We go months and months, we talk,” Trump told host Sean Hannity.“This is not much of a war, Sean, because there hasn’t been shooting for months.”Trump’s comments come shortly after the United States struck Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz Monday after Iran fired at a US aircraft.Officials confirmed to Fox News that the “defensive” strike does not indicate a return to full-blown US military strikes in Iran.The president said Monday that he was in no hurry to resume military strikes against Iran but warned that the US will give Iran “the hammer” soon if the latest round of peace talks are not fruitful.“With [Operation] Midnight Hammer, we bombed out all of their potential nuclear power.

Now we have might have to go after Pickaxe [Mountain], but that’s not a big deal.We can do it in literally one hour,” Trump told Fox News.“This isn’t like a war that’s going on, there’s no war raging,” he added.

“It could happen if they don’t make a deal.But they want to make a deal very badly, and there is a very good chance we make a deal.”The financial toll of the Iran conflict has emerged as a political liability for Republicans ahead of Election Day as the Pentagon estimates the war has cost taxpayers more than $47 bi...