US President Donald Trump pledged to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and said the war with it would end soon, linking its possible conclusion to improving energy markets and lower petrol prices. Trump made the comments during a press exchange in which he discussed the Iranian issue and the escalation in the Middle East, as well as Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump links end of Iran war to petrol prices
Trump reaffirmed that Iran “will not get the nuclear weapon”, predicting that the war with it would end soon. He said its conclusion would probably have a positive impact on energy markets and help lower petrol prices afterwards, without providing numerical estimates for the expected decline.
Amid regional developments, the US president condemned the Houthis’ recent attacks on Saudi Arabia, describing their behaviour as “very bad”. Trump said he had spoken to the Saudi Crown Prince, adding: “I spoke to the Saudi Crown Prince and the Houthis are behaving very badly.” Trump also addressed the war in Ukraine, stressing the need to reach an urgent settlement to end the fighting.
Call for Zelenskyy to reach an agreement with Moscow
He stressed the importance of persuading Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to focus on reaching an agreement with Moscow, rather than being preoccupied with side issues and agreements. The US president said both Russia and Ukraine wanted to reach an agreement to end the war, but added that the two sides “do not know how to achieve that”.
He also pointed to violations of the ceasefire by both sides, referring to the obstacles facing efforts to end the conflict. Trump said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to reach an agreement, stating: “I think Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to reach an agreement, but we have to convince Zelenskyy to reach it.”
He called on Zelenskyy to focus on reaching a settlement rather than discussing side agreements, referring in particular to the issue of diesel with Russia.
