President Trump told Reuters on Wednesday that the United States will be "out of Iran pretty quickly" after nearly five weeks of airstrikes, but warned that American forces could return for "spot hits" if necessary. The remarks came during a phone interview in which the president was asked whether the war with Iran could be considered over.
He didn't say yes. He didn't say no. He said he'd know when he could "feel it in my bones."
What he did say was far more concrete than that instinct-driven line from earlier this month suggests. Trump declared that Iran has undergone "full regime change," that Operation Epic Fury has ensured the country will never possess a nuclear weapon, and that there is a "very good chance" of reaching a deal because, as he put it, "they don't want to be blasted anymore."
Regime change without asking for it
Trump framed the collapse of Iran's old leadership as a consequence of war, not a stated objective. Former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died on the first day of strikes. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was tapped to be the new leader early last month, The Hill reported. Trump referenced this transition bluntly: "I didn't need regime change, but we got it because of the casualties of war."
He followed that with a claim that carries enormous weight if it holds:
"We got it. So, we have regime change and the big thing we have is they're not going to have a nuclear weapon."
It is unclear whether Trump was referring to Mojtaba Khamenei when he referenced a new leader, as he did not reveal who the leader was. But the president also praised Iran's "New Regime President" in a Truth Social post earlier Wednesday, suggesting he sees the current Iranian government as fundamentally different from the one the U.S. began striking five weeks ago.
The Hormuz condition
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump announced that Iran had asked for a ceasefire. He did not accept it. Instead, he posted conditions on Truth Social that read less like diplomacy and more like an ultimatum: "We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear."
And in case the new regime missed the subtext: "Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!"
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most critical oil transit chokepoints on earth. Demanding it be "open, free, and clear" is not a minor ask. It is a structural demand that, if met, would reshape the security architecture of the entire Persian Gulf. Trump is not negotiating over enrichment centrifuges or inspector access. He is negotiating over whether Iran gets to threaten global energy markets ever again.
The nuclear question, settled differently
For two decades, the American foreign policy establishment treated Iran's nuclear ambitions as a problem to be managed through agreements, inspections, and carefully calibrated sanctions. The Obama-era deal tried to slow Iran's enrichment timeline. The Biden administration spent years trying to resurrect it. Neither approach eliminated the threat. Both assumed the regime in Tehran was a permanent fixture that had to be accommodated.
Trump's approach skipped the negotiating table and went straight to the source. When asked about Iran's highly enriched uranium, the president told Reuters he doesn't care about it, saying it's "so far underground." His confidence rests not on access agreements but on capability destruction. "We'll always be watching it by satellite."
The Defense Department has considered sending troops to the region to extract the country's uranium, though few details have been revealed about the scope of the ongoing military operation.
What comes next
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president's address later Wednesday would provide an "important update on Iran." The speech is expected to outline the ongoing U.S. military operation, though specifics remain scarce. Few details about Operation Epic Fury have been made public.
That information vacuum matters. Five weeks of airstrikes against a nation of 88 million people is not a minor engagement. The American public deserves a full accounting of what has been accomplished, what it cost, and what the exit looks like. Trump's Wednesday address is the right venue for that accounting, and the fact that it's coming signals the White House believes it has a story worth telling.
The broader picture is striking. A regime that terrorized its own citizens, armed proxies across the Middle East, and spent decades inching toward a nuclear weapon lost its supreme leader on day one of the American campaign. Its successor government is now requesting a ceasefire. The president of the United States is dictating terms, not receiving them.
Decades of diplomatic patience bought time. Five weeks of resolve may have bought a result.
