US President Donald Trump has indicated that he considers the US-Israeli war against Iran to be “effectively” over, after meeting with the Prime Minister of Qatar in Washington, DC.
In a surprise briefing Monday, Trump reiterated his position that the United States had destroyed the Iranian military. But his remarks suggest he is under pressure from his allies in the Middle East to end hostilities.
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“Iran is finished militarily,” he said. “We are simply maintaining the status quo, and we are really doing it at the request of the countries that are their neighbors.”
His comments followed a closed-door meeting with US Vice President JD Vance and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who welcomed the progress in a social media post.
“We discussed the situation in the region and ways to advance negotiations between the United States and Iran,” the prime minister said. “I am grateful for the positive discussions aimed at reaching an agreement and bringing peace to the region. »
Trump nevertheless acknowledged that the “status quo” would involve the continuation of the US naval blockade against Iranian ports, as well as the new Iron Gate Task Force, which aims to disrupt trade by land and through the Caspian Sea.
“Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and others would prefer the status quo, which is for us to remain as is,” he said. “In other words, the continuation of the largest naval blockade in the history of our country. Probably in the history of the world.”
Trump also indicated in his briefing that the United States was prepared to resume fighting, should the need arise.
“Taking military action doesn’t seem like a very necessary thing, but we are locked and loaded, ready to go for any reason that changes,” he said.
“Israel and the entire Middle East are protected from Iranian danger and threats, and we are seeing momentum towards the end of this conflict. I think it will end fairly soon.”
Iranian officials, meanwhile, called Trump’s latest remarks a diversion.
“The war against Iran has already destroyed the US government. But Washington is struggling like a desperate gambler,” wrote Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei in a social media post.
“FOLD YOUR HAND. STOP MAKING FAKE NEWS about imaginary threads.”
Separately, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the country’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, had called for an end to the situation, which he called “neither war nor peace.”
Pezeshkian added that Iran was open to further negotiations but would not be coerced, according to Iranian media. “We will not give in to force and intimidation,” he said.
Since the start of the war against Iran on February 28, the conflict has spread to neighboring countries and disrupted international trade.
Almost as soon as the United States and Israel began their attacks, Iran moved to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil, gas and fertilizer, among other goods.
Iran has also responded to U.S. and Israeli strikes with missile and drone attacks on its Gulf neighbors, including Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, with most of these attacks targeting U.S. military installations.
Other related conflicts have since emerged. Saudi Arabia resumed its fight against the Iran-backed Houthis, and Israel began its occupation of southern Lebanon, as well as its deadly airstrikes.
In the nearly nine months since the start of the war, the US offensive against Iran has become sporadic, with intermittent exchanges of fire.
In recent days, for example, the Trump administration announced “minor strikes” against the Iranian island of Qeshm.
It also offered a $20 million reward for “information about Iran’s nuclear program, including its facilities, equipment and associated personnel.”
After the Twelve Day War in June 2025, Trump claimed that Iran’s uranium enrichment program had been destroyed. But he has since made scaling back Iran’s nuclear program a central premise of the ongoing war.
Iran has long denied wanting to acquire nuclear weapons, saying its uranium enrichment program was intended for civilian energy production.
Iranian officials, meanwhile, pushed the United States to agree to seven conditions in order to end the war.
They include lifting US sanctions, releasing frozen Iranian funds, recognizing a new maritime route through the Strait of Hormuz, developed with Oman, and ending the war on all fronts, including Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
Qatar was one of the main mediators in the conflict. Sheikh Mohammed, the prime minister, is also foreign minister and is known for serving as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran.
At Monday’s closed-door meeting, he reportedly presented Trump with a two-day proposal from Iran to end the war.
Afterward, reporters asked Trump in the briefing room: “Why not just declare the end of the conflict and be done with it?”
Trump responded by presenting the continued US blockade as a matter of regional security. He also called for a “long-term solution” rather than a short-term one.
“We have great allies there, and we need to make sure they don’t get hurt, and they would,” he said.
“They’re a lot safer now than they were six months ago because Iran has been largely decapitated. But they’re still a bit of the bully of the Middle East.”
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