As a reporter asked Donald Trump on Wednesday about the ongoing Iran conflict, the President said it was “a short-term excursion,” despite the destruction the US has wrought during the 10-day conflict. According to Trump, the war that has affected the whole of the Middle East is coming to an end. However, he also warned of intensifying strikes should Iran restrict a major oil route.
Doocy: You just said it is a little excursion and you said it is a war, so which one is it?.
President Trump: Well, it’s both. It’s an excursion that will keep us out of a war. pic.twitter.com/rwIVSe24FO
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 11, 2026
While the president didn’t put a timeline on ending the Iran war when pressed for details, he did warn that the US would retaliate with increasing force should the Iranians attack ships in the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Trump posted on social media, vowing, “death, fire and fury will reign upon them.”
Moreover, Trump was asked about a new video that seems to show a US Tomahawk missile striking an area where more than 170 people died, including young girls at an Iranian girls’ school. The president said he hadn’t seen the video but suggested that the Tomahawk could have been fired by Iran, a country that isn’t known for such missiles, and without offering any evidence. He said that the Department of Defense is still investigating that strike. “Whatever the report shows, I’m willing to live with that report,” Trump said.
Meanwhile, Trump has also left open the prospect of acquiring oil from Iran. While referencing Venezuela, where the US launched an attack in January, and later took steps to secure and tap the country’s oil reserves, he could be planning the same for Iran. “People have thought about it, but it’s too soon to talk about that,” he said.
In the meantime, joint attacks by the US and Israel will continue until Iran is “totally and decisively defeated,” Trump added. “We took a little trip because we felt we had to do it to get rid of a certain evil, and I think you’re going to see that it’s going to be a short-lived episode,” Trump said at the Republican conference in Florida.
Trump: *Hand gesture* We did an excursion. You know what an excursion is? We had to take a little trip to get rid of some very evil people. They’re very strong. They were going to try to take over the whole Middle East. pic.twitter.com/bHTJx6nrhh
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 11, 2026
The president then added that if the attacks had not been carried out, Iran “would have had nuclear weapons within two weeks.” Moreover, Trump claimed that US and Israeli forces are “crushing” Iran and that Iran’s drone and missile attack capabilities are being “completely destroyed” and the country is “totally and decisively defeated.”
“We took a little trip because we felt we had to do it to get rid of a certain evil, and I think you’re going to see that it’s going to be a short-lived episode,” Trump said at the Republican Conference.
“The navy is gone. Everything is at the bottom of the ocean – 46 ships,” he said, adding that Iranian leaders were repeatedly targeted during the campaign.
After the Iran war sent oil prices soaring, the prices sank and stocks jumped dramatically following Trump’s announcement that the war was “very complete, pretty much.”
In the meantime, Israeli airstrikes on Tehran’s oil facilities have reportedly led to toxic rain falling over the city. Other strikes have destroyed a desalinization plant in the city as well as infrastructure for small villages close to the city, leaving people with no water or electricity.
