During the 13th cabinet meeting of President Donald Trump’s second term, the president indicated he expects more back-and-forth strikes with Iran as he tells reporters he is “losing faith” in the Islamic Republic.
The president expressed frustration with the Iranian regime, adding that “they do lie” and “misrepresent,” noting Iran’s surprise missile attack on U.S. forces in Jordan. All five missiles were intercepted, prompting the U.S. to launch retaliatory strikes.
Despite the dust-up earlier in the week, the U.S. hasn’t launched strikes on the Islamic Republic since Wednesday evening.
The president added that he believes Iran will “get weaker,” but then “get a little stronger maybe now, but they’ll get weaker and then they peter out.”
He underscored a need for the U.S. to “keep” its “guard up” with the Islamic Republic even as talks are ongoing due to the regime going back on their word – making a possible nod to the memorandum of understanding signed on June 17, which fell apart within days of the agreement when Iran violated the agreement by refusing to open the Strait of Hormuz, including the targeting of commercial cargo ships.
The president and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent have stressed the financial strain the U.S. continues to put on the Islamic Republic through sanctions and the ongoing complete naval blockade on Iranian ports, which the administration estimates is costing the regime between $400 million and $500 million in lost revenue.
During Bessent’s remarks in the cabinet meeting, he indicated that Iran is experiencing record-high inflation and can’t afford to pay its troops.
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a $1.15 trillion defense spending bill. The Pentagon claims the conflict with Iran has cost taxpayers $37.5 billion thus far.
However, multiple independent analyses suggest the true cost of the conflict has surpassed $100 billion. Moody’s Analytics estimated that the war has cost American consumers and taxpayers over $100 billion when factoring in surging energy prices and military outlays.
Separate assessments by independent groups, such as Brown University’s Costs of War project, also put total deployment, munitions and operational expenses in the $100 billion to $113 billion range.
