Trump says “the war is very complete,” and he’s considering taking over Strait of Hormuz

In a phone interview with CBS News Monday afternoon, President Trump said the U.S. war with Iran could almost be over. 

“I think the war is very complete, pretty much,” the president said, speaking from his Doral, Florida, golf club. “[Iran has] no navy, no communications, they’ve got no air force. Their missiles are down to a scatter. Their drones are being blown up all over the place, including their manufacturing of drones.”

The U.S. military said it struck over 3,000 Iranian targets in the first week of operations.

“If you look, they have nothing left. There’s nothing left in a military sense,” Mr. Trump said.

Late Sunday, Iran announced that Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei would replace his father as Iran’s supreme leader. 

“I have no message for him. None, whatsoever,” the president said, adding that he has someone else in mind to lead the country. 

Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the global oil supply flows, has effectively ground to a halt. 

The president said the U.S. “could do a lot” about the strait and threatened Iran if it inhibits the waterway. “They’ve shot everything they have to shoot, and they better not try anything cute or it’s going to be the end of that country. … If they do anything bad, that would be the end of Iran and you’d never hear the name again.” The president also said the strait is open now and claimed ships have been entering the strait, but said he is still “thinking about taking it over.” 

Mr. Trump initially estimated the war would take about a month to complete.

“We’re very far ahead of schedule,” he told CBS News on Monday.

The same afternoon the president said the war is “very complete, pretty much,” the Department of Defense posted on X, “We have Only Just Begun to Fight” and “no mercy.” 

So far, seven Americans have died in combat. Later Monday, Vice President JD Vance will attend a dignified transfer of the remains of U.S. Army Sgt. Benjamin Pennington, who died of injuries he suffered in a March 1 attack at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

Asked whether he thought the war could wrap up soon, the president said, “Wrapping up is all in my mind, nobody else’s.”