Ceasefire Day 36: Trump on Costs of War: ‘I Don’t Think about Americans’ Financial Situations’

President Donald Trump said that he would “finish the job” against Iran unless they accept a deal soon to end the Iran War, which Wednesday entered its 36th day of ceasefire.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday before departing for China on Air Force One, Trump said that Iran will “either do the right thing, or we’ll finish the job.”

Asked about pressure to end the war due to rising prices, Trump said, “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situations.” 

“I don’t think about anybody,” he added. “I think about one thing: we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.”

Data released by the Bureau of Labor statistics on Wednesday recorded wholesale inflation up 6 percent year-over-year in April.

Trump’s comments come days after the U.S. rejected the most recent proposal to end the conflict put forward by Iran. Details of Iran’s latest proposal, submitted to mediators over the weekend, emerged on Monday morning. Iran’s current stated conditions to end the conflict, as reported by the Iranian Tasnim News Agency, are the same conditions included in their May 2 proposal. They include an immediate end to hostilities and guarantees against renewed hostilities, the lifting of U.S. sanctions, Iranian management of the Strait of Hormuz, an end to the ongoing U.S. naval blockade, and an end to the war “on all fronts” including in Lebanon, where Israel has waged a deadly military campaign.

Iran said Wednesday that its disagreements with Washington stemmed from Tehran’s right to enrichment under the NPT. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said that Iran “talked about the nuclear program twice in less than a year, and we were unable to come to a conclusion because of the United States’ obsession with Iran’s nuclear program. It was not Iran, by the way, that left the negotiating table. Not only did they leave the negotiating table, they destroyed it twice in less than nine months.” Baghaei said that since the U.S. and Iran “were unable to take care of the nuclear issue, and we have already tested it, let’s focus on another issue that is of utmost concern for the region and the international community.”

Reuters reported Tuesday that Iraq and Pakistan have struck separate agreements with Iran to move oil and LNG through the Strait of Hormuz. Neither Iraq nor Pakistan had to pay fees to pass through Iran’s toll booth, according to the report. 

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that U.S. intelligence assessments show Iran has recovered access to 30 of its 33 Strait of Hormuz missile sites and its military still retains around 70 percent of its pre-war missile stockpile. 

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said that Israeli airstrikes on a highway south of Beirut Wednesday killed at least eight people, including two children. The IDF said it intercepted Hezbollah drones on Wednesday in southern Lebanon.

Gas prices remained elevated, with AAA reporting the national average price of gas at $4.51. The price of Brent Crude oil was $108 Wednesday morning.