Trump's boasts on secret call bewilder allies: 'Others felt the complete opposite'
President Donald Trump insisted to other G7 leaders that the U.S. was on the verge of winning his war on Iran and insulted one of the leaders who offered his nation's assistance, according to sources.
The U.S. president took part in a virtual meeting Wednesday with the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the EU, and three officials briefed on the call told Axios that Trump boasted Iran was "about to surrender" and claimed Operation Epic Fury had already been successful.
"I got rid of a cancer that was threatening us all," Trump said, according to the sources.
Trump also bragged that the U.S. had killed all the leaders left in Tehran who had the authority to surrender, but just 24 hours later Iran's new supreme leader issued his first public statement pledging to keep up the fight.
"Nobody knows who is the leader, so there is no one that can announce surrender," Trump said, according to two officials briefed on the call.
All of the other leaders urged Trump to wind down the war quickly and secure the Strait of Hormuz, two sources said, but the U.S. president assured them the situation in the Persian Gulf was improving and commercial ships would soon be able to resume operations – but at least two tankers were set on fire later that night.
"Trump was 'ambiguous and noncommittal' on his objectives and timeline for ending the war," sources told Axios. "Some participants left the call believing he wants to wind it down — others felt the complete opposite."
The 79-year-old president said the war would soon end but gave no timeline beyond stressing the importance of "we need to finish the job" to avoid another war in five years, and he brushed off concerns about Russia exploiting the war to wriggle out of sanctions – which the U.S. Treasury Department temporarily lifted the following day.
Two officials briefed on the call said Trump also took a shot at UK Prime Minister Starmer for "initially balking at allowing U.S. forces use British bases for the war before offering access to the bases for 'defensive' strikes on Iranian missile sites," Axios reported.
"Trump told Starmer in front of the other G7 leaders that he no longer needed his help," Axios reported. "'You should have proposed it before the war — now it is too late,' he said."
You May Also Like
SpaceX Plans Massive Orbit Network of AI Data Centers, Elon Musk Says
Why The Dogecoin EMA Is The Level That Will Determine The Next Price Move
