Trump Says Iran War Will Not End Until U.S. Secures Total Victory

US President Donald Trump has declared that the war with Iran will end when Washington decides, insisting that the United States has already won the conflict but is holding out for what he described as a “total victory”.

Speaking at a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday, Trump said the United States had achieved its military objectives and could bring the war to an end whenever it chose.

“Just a question of when we want to end it,” he said, signalling that Washington was not prepared to conclude the conflict without securing what it considers a decisive outcome.

However, Trump's confidence comes amid continuing Iranian resistance and fresh security threats to commercial shipping and energy infrastructure across the Middle East.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that two additional oil tankers caught fire after striking naval mines while attempting to leave the Strait of Hormuz through what it described as an unauthorised route.

The claims followed earlier reports of tanker fires in the strategic waterway, while the UK Maritime Trade Operations had also reported that a vessel was hit by a projectile. The incidents have heightened concerns over the safety of commercial vessels using the corridor, which is critical to crude oil and petroleum product exports from Gulf producers.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted three cruise missiles launched by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis towards Riyadh. The development followed a reported Houthi attack that damaged a building belonging to Saudi Aramco in the Saudi capital.

Although the reported damage to the Aramco building does not establish any disruption to the company's production or export operations, the attacks underline the wider security exposure of energy assets and commercial routes in the region.

Iran has also rejected key elements of Washington's proposed settlement. The country's security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, said Tehran would not allow the removal of any enriched nuclear material from the country, while warning that US military bases outside the Middle East, including those in Europe, could be targeted if used in attacks against Iran.

The economic consequences are also mounting. Allianz Trade estimates that physical damage across Gulf countries has exceeded $200 billion, with more than 80 energy facilities hit and about one-third severely damaged. It further projects that cumulative economic losses across Gulf Cooperation Council countries could reach $790 billion by 2030.

Despite Trump's assertion that Washington can determine when the war ends, the continuing tanker incidents, threats to regional military bases and reported damage to energy infrastructure show that the conflict's security and economic consequences remain unresolved.