Photo: Roberto Schmidt / Getty Images News / Getty Images
President Donald Trump held his first press conference since the start of the U.S.-Israel-led war on Iran on Monday (March 9), speaking to reporters at his Trump National Doral resort in Miami, Florida, as the conflict entered its second week.
The president told reporters the military campaign is performing ahead of schedule, saying, "We're achieving major strides toward completing our military objective. And some people could say they're pretty well complete." He added, "We've wiped every single force in Iran out, very completely, most of Iran's naval power powers been sunk."
President Trump said the effort is "ahead of our initial timeline by a lot," noting he would not have expected such progress after just one month. The president also revealed the administration has deliberately held off striking certain critical infrastructure targets, including Iran's electricity production systems.
"So we're not looking to do that if we don't have to," he said. "But they're the kind of things that are very easy to hit, but very devastating if they are hit."
The press conference comes as oil prices have surged sharply. Brent crude spiked to $119.50 per barrel earlier Monday (March 9) before pulling back to around $103 per barrel. The national average price for a gallon of gas has climbed to $3.50.
The spike in fuel costs creates a political challenge for President Trump, who has repeatedly pointed to lower gas prices as a win during his return to office. The AAA reported the national gas average has risen nearly 27 cents. Despite that, President Trump dismissed the concern, saying the rising prices affect other countries more than the U.S.
"It doesn't really affect us," he said, though he acknowledged the administration is exploring ways to ease the cost burden on Americans. In a Monday morning Truth Social post, the president called the higher prices "a small price to pay."
President Trump framed the military action in broad terms, saying the U.S. and Israel are working to "get rid of a major, major cancer on the face of the earth," referring to the Iranian regime. "This is a short excursion into something that should have been done for 47 years," he added.
Despite Trump's comments that the war could be ending soon, the U.S.-Israel-led campaign shows no immediate signs of winding down, and the administration has not provided a firm timeline for when strikes might end.