Donald Trump refuses to set a deadline for when the war with Iran will end, telling the media, “Don’t rush me,” while citing other wars that also lasted many years.
On 23 Apr 2026 GMT+7, U.S. President Donald Trump declined to specify how long he intends the war with Iran to last, telling reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, “Don’t rush me,” when pressed about a timeline.
“Look at when we were in Vietnam—we were there for 18 years. We were in Iraq for many years... I don’t want to bring up World War II because that was a big deal, but we were in World War II for four and a half, almost five years,” Trump said.
The president pointed out that the ongoing ceasefire is a positive sign for negotiations, affirming, “We stopped a little too soon because they also want some peace.”
“They want to make a deal,” the president said. “We’ve talked to them, but they don’t even know who is leading their country. They’re in chaos and confusion, so we figured we’d give them some time to sort that out.”
Additionally, Trump insisted again that he does not feel pressured to end the war quickly, even though his original timeframe was four to six weeks, emphasizing that what matters is that Iran cannot export oil during the ongoing maritime blockade.
“I don’t want to rush myself, you know, because every news report likes to say, ‘Oh, Trump is under time pressure,’” Trump said. “No, no—you know who’s under time pressure? [Iran] Because if they can’t ship oil, their entire oil infrastructure will collapse.”
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Source:cnn