Trump: No Expectation of Renewed War with Iran, Administration Not Seeking Long-Term Conflict

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, July 8 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he does not expect the war with Iran to start again, highlighting that his administration is not looking for a "long-term" conflict with the Islamic Republic.

Trump made the remarks during a press conference at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Ankara, Turkey, after he said that an interim peace deal between the United States and Iran is "over," following an exchange of military strikes.

On Tuesday, the U.S. military struck over 80 Iranian targets in response to what it calls Iran's latest attacks on commercial vessels transiting the crucial Strait of Hormuz, stoking concerns over a potential return to full-scale war.

"I don't think it's going to start again," Trump said of the war with Iran.

"I think it's going to go very quickly. They hit a couple of ships, and so we hit them much harder," he added, referring to this week's U.S. strikes on Iranian targets.

Trump pointed out that his administration is not seeking a long-term Middle East conflict.

"Anything that happens is going to happen very fast. We are not looking for long-term (war)," he said.

During a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte earlier in the day, Trump said that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Washington and Tehran, a preliminary peace deal, was "over," as tensions heightened amid continued attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre, a British entity, announced earlier this week that there were reports of three tankers struck by unidentified projectiles in the strait or in an area east of Limah, Oman.

"To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with anybody (from Iran)," Trump said of the MOU, lambasting Iranian leaders as "scum," "sick people" and "liars."

The U.S. and Iran signed an MOU last month to extend their ceasefire, allowing vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz freely for 60 days and initiating negotiations for a final agreement to end the war.

Despite a lack of progress in ending the Middle East war, Trump defended the U.S. operation against Iran as a "tremendous military success."

"I can only answer the question by saying that they are not going to have a nuclear weapon," he said during the press conference, responding to a reporter's question about why he was unable to end the war with Iran.

During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the margins of the NATO summit, Trump warned that the U.S. Navy could reimpose a blockade of Iranian ports, which was lifted as Washington and Tehran signed the MOU last month.

"We may put it back ... the blockade. It'll only be a blockade for Iran. Anybody else can have whatever they want," he said.

Trump also warned that the U.S. would strike Iran again on Wednesday night.

"We hit them very hard last night ... (We will) probably hit them hard again tonight."