Trump says Iran’s economy is crashing: ‘I hope it fails’
by Tom Howell Jr. · The Washington TimesIran’s economy is failing and its currency is worthless, President Trump said Tuesday, heaping pressure on Tehran to make a deal.
“They should do the smart thing,” Mr. Trump said in the Oval Office. “We don’t want to go in and kill people.”
Mr. Trump sized up Iran’s situation as he imposed a strict blockade on Iranian ports, reducing the Islamic republic’s ability to generate oil revenue.
“Their economy is crashing,” Mr. Trump said. “I hope it fails. You know why? Because I want to win.”
The Iranian rial — the Islamic republic’s currency — was trading at 42,000 to 1 U.S. dollar on Tuesday.
Mr. Trump said an April ceasefire in the fighting remains intact despite reports that Iran exchanged fire with U.S. forces and launched missiles and drones against the United Arab Emirates.
The president did not say what type of Iranian actions would invalidate the ceasefire.
“They know what not to do,” Mr. Trump said.
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The U.S. and Israel launched an air war against Iran on Feb. 28 to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump repeated his belief that striking Iran was necessary to prevent a nuclear-armed Tehran.
Otherwise, “maybe we wouldn’t all be here right now. I can tell you, the Middle East would have been gone, Israel would have been gone, and they would have trained their sights on Europe first and then us,” Mr. Trump said. “Because they’re sick people, these are sick people, and we’re not going to let lunatics have a nuclear weapon.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.