US President Donald Trump gestures after participating in a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC. (November 9, 2026)
Trump says it’s possible he would strike Iran “right now”
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
US President Donald Trump said he would not hesitate to order renewed military strikes on Iran if he determined it necessary, while claiming that the United States currently holds a strong position in the conflict.
In an interview with conservative host Hugh Hewitt aired on the Salem News Channel, Trump was asked whether he would hesitate to use military force to stop Iran from threatening American allies and ships.
“No. No hesitation,” he replied.
“We’re doing very well with it right now… we’re taking out more oil now than we did before the, if you call it a war, before the war started. We’re taking out more oil.”
Trump claimed the US fully controls the Strait of Hormuz.
“We control the Gulf in terms of the Hormuz Strait. We control it. Totally control it,” he said.
He added that American forces had fought at a rapid pace for about three weeks in an earlier phase, with no US soldiers killed in the preceding five months, contrasting that record with heavy losses in the Russia-Ukraine war.
“But the answer is if I saw things going the other way, I would do that. And it’s possible I would do it right now.”
The president described Iran’s government as collapsing under economic and military pressure.
He cited 301 percent inflation, unpaid soldiers, a destroyed navy and air force, and loss of the strait.
“Their regime is collapsing… They are not doing well… their economy is gone,” Trump said.
When asked about possible further operations against remaining industrial infrastructure or the Pickaxe Mountain facility, he replied that such action “could happen.”
The remarks came amid a prolonged US-Iran confrontation that began earlier in 2026 with strikes targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites, followed by periods of reduced major combat, a blockade, and intermittent attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has repeatedly claimed US and ‘Israeli’ operations severely degraded Iran’s conventional forces and nuclear program while limiting American casualties.
In the days before the Hewitt interview, Trump had struck a more restrained public tone.
In a November 8 interview with CNN, he said renewed major attacks were “highly unlikely” as long as negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program and the strait showed progress, though he stressed US forces remained “locked and loaded” with three aircraft carriers in the region.
On November 10 he described the military phase of the conflict as “effectively over” while repeating that American forces were prepared if conditions changed.
Trump’s latest comments also followed reports of internal administration discussions about diplomacy, including Vice President JD Vance’s earlier interest in direct contacts with Iranian officials.
Trump has since directed Vance to focus on domestic issues and stated that a deal with Iran is no longer needed, citing US control of Iranian financial assets and the strait.
