US Continues Strikes on Iran Despite Trump Claims That War Is Over

On Monday night, the United States conducted a series of strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island, the latest in a number of strikes over the past several weeks that have previously gone unreported.

Qeshm Island reportedly houses a large underground missile site and a naval base. It also has a desalination plant, which may be considered a civilian target rather than a military one.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump dismissed the idea that other previously unreported strikes have been taking place.

“We had a war with Iran. We won,” the president claimed during a speech at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, adding that the U.S. hasn’t engaged in “any fighting for months.”

However, other officials speaking to The Wall Street Journal said that the U.S. has been launching smaller-scale strikes for several weeks, with one source telling the publication that the administration has been downplaying the attacks to avoid signaling any intention of resuming major combat operations.

Trump has been inconsistent in his remarks regarding the future of the U.S.’s war on Iran. During his speech on Monday, he told reporters that a peace deal with the country “looks like [it’s] coming together very nicely.” That comment came shortly after Trump stated on Truth Social that a deal “could happen,” and that Iran wanted a resolution to the conflict “as soon as possible.”

But for several weeks, the president has been suggesting that major hostilities could resume shortly after the midterm elections, sometimes using explicitly genocidal terms. Less than a day after his speech at the Reflecting Pool in which he said a deal was close, Trump indicated in an appearance on “Fox & Friends” that he may restart major attacks on Iran.

Asked by the Fox News hosts what “the next thing” in the war would be, Trump nonchalantly suggested that he could order the resumption of major combat operations.

“I’m not looking to kill lots of people, but if we have to, we’ll have to,” Trump said.

Notably, Trump spent most of the interview peddling blatant falsehoods — including falsely claiming that “inflation is solved” and that “everything is going good” regarding the economy.

In response to The Wall Street Journal report, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) expressed alarm at the revelation that the U.S. has been launching strikes without publicly announcing them.

“After eight months of an illegal war, there was finally some hope that a diplomatic agreement might be within reach and this war could end through negotiations rather than spiral into the violent scenarios being threatened after the midterm elections,” NIAC President Jamal Abdi said in a statement. “But these deeply alarming revelations suggest we may be heading in precisely the opposite direction.”

Abdi added:

Every day that Congress fails to intervene is another day this administration is allowed to wage an unauthorized war, conceal its military operations, and gamble with millions of lives. Congress must immediately demand answers, oppose further military action, and use its power to cut off funding for this unauthorized war.