Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
LAST UPDATE | 9 Mar
US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump said that the war against Iran would be a “short-term excursion,” while insisting that the United States and Israel “haven’t won enough” against Tehran.
Trump’s comments at a gathering of congressional Republicans at his golf club in Doral, Florida cast further uncertainty over his timeline after he said in a CBS News interview that the conflict was “very complete, pretty much.”
“We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some people. And I think you’ll see it’s going to be a short-term excursion,” Trump said in a speech.
The 79-year-old repeated his claims about the destruction of the Iranian navy, air force and missile program.
But Trump – whose earlier CBS comments indicating an end to the war was in sight had caused stocks to jump and oil prices to drop – added that the United States and Israel had more to do.
“We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough,” Trump said, calling for “ultimate victory” against Iran.
Referring to the killing of former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Iranian leaders, Trump added that the United States “will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated.”
Trump early told CBS that the United States was “very far” ahead of his initially stated war time frame of four or five weeks.
“I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no air force,” Trump told the US broadcaster by phone, repeating battle damage assessments that he has given in previous days.
Speaking about the Strait of Hormuz, he also told CBS that he was “thinking about taking it over.”
“They’ve shot everything they have to shoot, and they better not try anything cute or it’s going to be the end of that country,” he said of Iran.
Wall Street stocks rose sharply while oil prices plummeted in response to Trump’s comments.
Also this evening, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Trump have discussed the Iran war and Ukraine conflict during a “frank and constructive” telephone call, the Kremlin said.
“The accent was placed on the situation surrounding the conflict with Iran and the bilateral negotiations underway with the representatives of the United States on settling the Ukrainian question,” Putin’s diplomatic advisor Yuri Ushakov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
Asked about Iran’s new Supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who Trump has openly criticized, he said, “I have no message for him. None, whatsoever.” Trump said he has someone in mind to replace Khamenei, but he did not elaborate.
— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) March 9, 2026
France and its allies are preparing a “defensive” mission to reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, President Emmanuel Macron said earlier today as the Middle East war entered its second week.
The French leader landed by helicopter on the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, dispatched to the Mediterranean after US-Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February triggered a war that has sown chaos in the Middle East and threatens to spill into other regions.
Macron said during a visit to Cyprus earlier in the day that the Hormuz mission would be aimed at escorting container ships and tankers in order to gradually reopen the strait “after the end of the hottest phase of the conflict”.
“This is essential for international trade, but also for the flow of gas and oil, which must be able to leave this region once again,” Macron said during a visit to the island to discuss regional security.
Speaking alongside Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Macron said a “purely defensive, purely support mission” will be put together by European and non-European states.
The European Union said today it was ready to “enhance” its operations to protect maritime traffic in the Middle East.
The EU has been discussing reinforcing its naval mission in the Red Sea.
Maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a key Gulf waterway through which a fifth of global crude oil passes, has all but halted since the war broke out.
Macron visited Cyprus after the island nation and EU member was targeted by Iranian-made drones in early March.
The French leader said an attack on Cyprus was an attack on all of Europe.
“When Cyprus is attacked, it is Europe that is attacked,” he said.
“We will not accept that the slightest piece of European territory, like Cyprus, be exposed to danger,” added Mitsotakis.
The drone attack in Cyprus led to France’s deployment of the Charles de Gaulle carrier to the Mediterranean, as well as a frigate and air defence units to the island.
France has insisted its stance in the region is “strictly defensive”.
Aboard the Charles de Gaulle, Macron was due to speak with the sailors serving in the carrier strike group, the Elysee said.
The flagship is at the heart of a French naval operation that will also mobilise eight frigates and two amphibious helicopter carriers in a vast area including the eastern Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, he said.
A French frigate was already taking part in the EU’s “Operation Aspides”, which was launched in the Red Sea in 2024 to prevent attacks on trade vessels by Iran-backed Houthi rebel forces.
Macron said that France would contribute “in the long term” with two frigates to Operation Aspides.
“What we want to do is to ensure freedom of navigation and maritime security,” he said.
Separately, Macron on Monday morning spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the situation in the Middle East and Lebanon, the Elysee said.
With reporting from David Mac Redmond
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say