President Donald Trump told leaders of the Group of Seven during a virtual meeting Wednesday that Iran was “about to surrender,” according to three officials from G7 countries who were briefed on the call.
Less than a day later, Iran’s newly appointed supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei delivered his first public remarks since taking power, pledging that the country would continue fighting.
The contrasting messages highlight the widening gap between Trump’s confidence about the war’s trajectory and the more uncertain reality on the ground. Fourteen days into the conflict, Iran has shown no signs of imminent collapse and has instead attempted to strengthen its leverage by threatening to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
During the call, Trump praised the results of the U.S.-Israeli military campaign known as Operation Epic Fury.
“I got rid of a cancer that was threatening us all,” he reportedly told allied leaders.
While suggesting Iran was nearing surrender, Trump also indicated that the country’s leadership structure had been severely disrupted.
“Nobody knows who is the leader, so there is no one that can announce surrender,” he said, according to two officials familiar with the discussion.
Trump has previously mocked Mojtaba Khamenei, describing him as a “lightweight,” and earlier said the late leader Ali Khamenei’s son would be an unacceptable successor from Washington’s perspective.
In a statement broadcast on Iranian state television Thursday, Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to avenge what he called Iran’s “martyrs” and warned that the conflict would expand into new arenas where adversaries are less prepared.
He also reiterated Iran’s threat to disrupt the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping corridor for global energy supplies. Attacks on tankers in the region have already driven oil prices above $100 per barrel and raised fears of a global economic shock.
The escalating crisis has alarmed other G7 leaders, who used the call to urge Trump to bring the war to a swift conclusion and ensure the security of maritime traffic through Hormuz.
Trump told the leaders that conditions around the strait were improving and suggested commercial shipping could soon resume normal operations, according to an official briefed on the discussion. Hours later, however, at least two oil tankers were set ablaze off the coast of Iraq.
Participants in the call said Trump remained vague about the administration’s broader objectives and timeline for ending the conflict. Some leaders interpreted his remarks as signaling a desire to wind down the war, while others believed he intended to continue the campaign.
Trump reportedly told the group that the key question was timing, saying the United States needed to “finish the job” in order to avoid another conflict with Iran within the next five years.
The White House declined to comment on the discussions.
Meanwhile, analysts note that the surge in oil prices driven by the Hormuz crisis could provide an economic windfall for major energy exporters such as Russia.
