Six weeks into a war that much of the world said would spiral out of control, President Trump has declared it is nearing an end. In a recent interview, he stated: “We’ve beaten them militarily, totally.” He added, “I think it’s close to over. I view it as very close to over.”

Current developments align with his assessment. The U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has been fully implemented and is holding without exception. Iran cannot move a single ship through the strait. Peace negotiations are being resumed, and global markets are reacting as if a settlement is imminent.

Recent reports confirm Trump’s exact statements from the interview, including: “If I pulled up stakes right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country. And we’re not finished.” He also stated: “We’ll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal very badly.”

Additionally, Trump emphasized: “I had to divert because if I didn’t do that, right now, you’d have Iran with a nuclear weapon. And if they had a nuclear weapon, you’d be calling everybody over there ‘sir,’ and you don’t want to do that.” He further predicted gas prices would drop significantly once the conflict concludes and the stock market would “booming” post-war.

The administration has intensified pressure on China by implementing secondary sanctions against Chinese banks if Iranian funds are detected flowing through their accounts. This multi-front approach aims to disrupt Iran’s ability to receive international financial support.

U.S. and Iranian officials have reached an “in principle agreement” to extend the current ceasefire for additional diplomatic efforts, with negotiations expected to resume within days.