'Four to five weeks' to another year: Trump's Iran war timeline faces new twist from US envoy
WASHINGTON, DC: While the Iran war ceasefire is nowhere in sight, President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the fighting will soon end. However, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz has broken with Trump on the possible truce timeline, saying it could drag on for another year.
Attacks between the two parties have decreased, but no official truce has been declared. The US is still maintaining its naval blockade of Iranian ports, while Tehran continues to restrict full access through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump's UN envoy doubts Iran war will end soon
Waltz appeared for an interview with the Financial Times, where he spoke about the Iran war timeline, arguing that the conflict which started on February 28 earlier this year could drag on for another one year.
Notably, Trump, at the beginning of the war, said that it was a four-to five-week-long military operation against the Islamic Republic.
Waltz also said that the US would not achieve its war objectives until Iran disposes of its highly enriched uranium and accepts a "meaningful agreement on their domestic enrichment."
"I'm not going to put out hypotheticals. One would hope that they'll come to the table in a meaningful way before that," Waltz said, referring to the possibility of another year of war.
He added that Trump and the US Navy can "maintain this blockade [on Iranian ports] for the foreseeable future," and said that the administration was still "tightening" its economic pressure campaign against Iran.
Are the US and Israel planning an attack on Iran after the midterms
Earlier, President Trump dismissed the idea of attacking Iran any time soon, explicitly saying that there is no plan to launch any attack against Tehran before the November 3 midterms election.
However, there are reports suggesting that Israel and the US are planning a major attack against Iran after the midterm elections.
According to a New York Times report published on Wednesday, citing American officials, the US and Israeli militaries have drawn up detailed plans for renewed strikes on Iran following the US midterm elections on November 3.
The reported plans focus on a short, intensive military operation that could last approximately three days and include strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, energy infrastructure, and missile and drone capabilities.
The two countries have stepped up joint military exercises, including flights over Iraq to rehearse potential strikes. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also discussed the plans with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Israel this week.
