Donald Trump in Mississippi: ceasefire with the Islamic Republic was a waste of time

US President Donald Trump told a campaign rally in Corinth, Mississippi, on Monday, 26 October, that he had never liked the short ceasefire the United States had with the Islamic Republic and that, in his words, it was mostly a waste of time. He spoke a week before the congressional midterm elections, as regional mediators hold talks in Tehran to prevent a resumption of the war.

Endorsing remarks by a member of Congress who spoke before him, Trump said the United States did not start the war with the Islamic Republic; the regime started its war on America in 1979, after the fall of the imperial government, and has killed or wounded many American service members over the decades. He again defended his order, in his first term, to kill Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Quds Force, whom he held responsible for roadside bombs in Iraq.

Trump's claims about the blockade and the Islamic Republic's military power

The US president said America now fully controls the Strait of Hormuz and has imposed the largest naval blockade in history on the Islamic Republic's ports; according to him, no Iranian ship has passed the blockade except during the ceasefire days. He claimed the Islamic Republic had 159 vessels, all now at the bottom of the sea, and 268 fighter jets whose pieces are scattered across airfield runways. No independent source has confirmed these figures.

Trump said most of the Islamic Republic's radars have been destroyed, but that every time the strikes stop the regime acquires radars again and builds more drones. He also said the Islamic Republic had been two weeks away from building a nuclear weapon and would have used a bomb immediately had it obtained one. According to him, the regime's missiles can reach Europe and could in the future threaten cities such as San Diego and Los Angeles.

Oil prices and the end of the operation

Trump said he had expected oil prices to rise far more than they have and had been prepared for that, but that prices will come down once the war is over. He said the operation will end soon and accused Barack Obama and Joe Biden of failing to destroy the Islamic Republic's nuclear capability.

The remarks come after Trump said on Sunday, 25 October, that no strike on the Islamic Republic would take place that day, and after two US officials spoke of US forces being ready for a large-scale strike within 96 hours. Earlier he had said he would either finish the Islamic Republic or Tehran would make a deal.

Trump called the ceasefire with the Islamic Republic a waste of time and said the regime has been at war with America since 1979.