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He told CBS News "I think the war is very complete, pretty much", and said the US was "very far ahead of schedule"
Speaking to NBC, he left open the prospect of acquiring Iranian oil, saying "certainly people have talked about it"
In an interview with the New York Post, he said the administration was "nowhere near" making a decision on whether to order US troops into Iran
Speaking to Republican lawmakers, Trump said the US was drawn into a "short-term" military operation in Iran to "get rid of some very evil people"
He went on to say: "We've already won in many ways, but we haven't won enough"
Trump told the New York Post he is "not happy" with Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, but at his press briefing later did not make clear who he wants to take his place - or how that will be achieved
At his press briefing, Trump reiterated that the operation in Iran has been a "tremendous success", but also added that he wants to ensure Iran cannot develop nuclear weaponry "for a very long time" - a much bigger task
The US still has targets in Iran, Trump tells reporters, but they could be taken out "in one day"
Still, he says the war will be over "very soon"
If coming into this press conference Donald Trump was giving hints that he was preparing to wrap up military operations against Iran – an “excursion”, as he called it – his latest comments have cast that into doubt.
The president said that what the US has done so far has been “tremendous success”. He ticked through how Iran’s Navy has been sunk, its Air Force has been destroyed, and its radar and anti-aircraft equipment disabled.
But he added that he wanted to ensure that Iran could not develop weaponry to target the US, Israel or any American allies “for a very long time”.
That, however, is a bigger task. And, in the end, it might require the kind regime change that Trump has been unable to achieve so far.
Trump’s call with Putin earlier followed several reports indicating that Russia has been helping Iran in its conflict with the US and Israel.
Over the weekend, several American outlets, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the Associated Press, cited anonymous officials claiming that Moscow was providing Tehran with intelligence that helped it to target military personnel and assets in the Middle East. Russia has not officially confirmed it is helping Iran.
But Moscow has condemned the strikes against Iran, calling them a “reckless step”.
Theoretically, helping Iran attack US targets could strain Moscow’s relationship with the Trump administration.
The US and Russia met several times this year for talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine — talks in which the Kremlin has been hoping Washington would put pressure on Kyiv.
The White House has not said whether Russia is indeed helping Iran, but insists that such assistance would make little difference.
“If you take a look at what’s happened to Iran in the last week, if they’re getting information, it’s not helping them much,” Trump said yesterday while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One.
His special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who is leading negotiations with Russia, also stopped short of confirming whether Russia was indeed sharing intelligence with Iran.
However, according to Witkoff, he “firmly” warned Moscow not to help Tehran.