Trump calls Iran conflict a 'soft war', insists US holds the cards ahead of midterm elections

On the night before midterm election day, US President Donald Trump sought to reassure voters about the ongoing conflict with Iran. Appearing on Fox News's “Hannity” on Monday, he described the conflict not as a “forever war” but as a “soft war” that the United States could end at any time.

“We're not fighting a war … When was the last time we fired anything? This isn't a war, this is a very soft war,” Trump said. In the interview, given just hours before Tuesday's Election Day, he discussed his midterm campaign blitz, his administration's successes in the first two years of his second term, and the war in Iran.

Iran could be a key deciding issue as voters go to the polls on Election Day, as Americans continue to grapple with surging gas prices and the economic fallout from the United States' conflict, which began eight months ago — the backdrop against which the president offered this explanation.

“What's a war? A war is fighting. Take a look at World War I, World War II. When was the last time you saw us fighting with them? We go months and months, we talk,” Trump told host Sean Hannity. “This is not much of a war, Sean, because there hasn't been shooting for months.”

Trump's comments came shortly after the United States struck Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, after Iran fired at a US aircraft. Officials confirmed that the “defensive” strike does not indicate a return to full-blown US military strikes in Iran.

The president said on Monday that he was in no hurry to resume military strikes against Iran, but warned that the US will give Iran “the hammer” soon if the latest round of peace talks are not fruitful.

“With [Operation] Midnight Hammer, we bombed out all of their potential nuclear power. Now we might have to go after Pickaxe [Mountain], but that's not a big deal. We can do it in literally one hour,” Trump told Fox News.

“This isn't like a war that's going on, there's no war raging,” he added. “It could happen if they don't make a deal. But they want to make a deal very badly, and there is a very good chance we make a deal.” In his words, the door remains open to negotiation.

Public doubt over any plan to end the war is clear, however. A Fox News poll found that 71 percent think the Trump administration lacks a plan to end the Iran war. The financial toll of the conflict has emerged as a political liability for Republicans ahead of Election Day, with the Pentagon estimating the war has cost taxpayers more than $47 billion.

Trump, however, dismissed criticism of the staggering price tag, describing the expense as “peanuts” and saying the war was necessary to disarm Iran from building a nuclear weapon.

His claims about Iran's military condition were equally detailed: “Their military is gone, their navy is gone, their air force is gone, their anti-aircraft is gone, and they have some missiles, but they don't have many of them — very little capacity to build more. They have drones, but they don't have very many, they have very little capacity to build more.”

Overall, Trump's message was a single one: the US is dealing from a position of “total strength”, and the conflict can be ended “at any time”. How far that reassurance sways voters on the eve of the election will be known from Tuesday's results.