Trump Says War on Iran 'Close to Over,' Again

US President Donald Trump claimed in a Fox Business interview set to air Wednesday that the US-Israeli war on Iran is "close to over," marking the latest in a series of similar proclamations he has made since the war began on February 28.

"I think it's close to over, yeah. I mean, I view it as very close to over," Trump told Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo. Bartiromo separately described an earlier exchange in the same interview in which Trump had said flatly that "it's over."

It is not the first time Trump has unilaterally declared the war on Iran over. On March 9, he said the war was "very complete, pretty much." On March 20, he told reporters Iran was "finished" from a military standpoint. On March 24, he announced that the US and "Israel" had "won." Iran, on each occasion, continued destroying US and Israeli infrastructure across the region in retaliatory strikes against US-Israeli attacks.

In the same interview, Trump warned that the damage inflicted on Iran would take generations to undo. "If I pulled up stakes right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country, and we're not finished," he said.

The remark echoed the threat that precipitated the current temporary ceasefire. Under mounting pressure from Trump's ultimatums, including a warning that Iran's "whole civilization will die" if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened, Pakistan brokered a two-week ceasefire on April 8, which has held despite US-Israeli breaches.

'An amazing two days ahead'

In a separate exchange with ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl, Trump said he was not thinking about extending the ceasefire and did not believe it would be necessary. "I think you're going to be watching an amazing two days ahead," he told Karl.

When asked whether the war ends with a deal or with Washington simply declaring its military objectives met, Trump left both doors open.

"It could end either way, but I think a deal is preferable because then they can rebuild. They really do have a different regime now. No matter what, we took out the radicals. They're gone, no longer with us."

He also took the opportunity to cast himself as the world's indispensable man, boasting that if he "weren't president, the world would be torn to pieces."

Islamabad talks end without deal

Efforts to convert that fragile truce into something permanent brought the two sides to Islamabad last weekend for the highest-level direct engagement between Washington and Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The talks, led by US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, lasted 21 hours but ended without agreement due to maximalist US demands.

Washington demanded a complete halt to uranium enrichment and the surrender of Iran's stockpile, demands Tehran rejected as violations of its sovereign rights under international law and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Second round in view

A second round is now in view. Trump told the New York Post on Tuesday that talks "could be happening over the next two days" in Islamabad, adding that Pakistan's role made the location the preferred venue.

"He's fantastic, and therefore it's more likely that we go back there," Trump said of Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir. Pakistani officials have been relaying messages between the two sides, with sources indicating a possible window between late this week and early next, though nothing has been confirmed.

The ceasefire expires on April 21.

Iran: Trump must 'accept defeat or endure it'

Mohammad Mokhber, an advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, dismissed Trump's pressure campaign in a post on X on Tuesday. "Trump's confusion is the prelude to another mistake," he wrote, warning that any attempt to blockade the Strait of Hormuz "is not only unachievable, but will lead to new surprises."

Describing Trump as a "losing man" facing a binary choice, Mokhber said the US president must "either accept defeat or endure it."