Trump will not let Iran 'manipulate' him, White House official says

A White House official stated that US President Donald Trump will not allow the Iranian government to manipulate him, as he claimed previous US presidents were manipulated by Tehran. According to the official, as reported by Middle East Eye, Trump is comfortable letting Iran's inevitable collapse take its course. The US is in a powerful position due to its control of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which dozens of millions of barrels of oil are escorted daily.

President Trump also commented on the situation with Iran, stating that a war with the country would end "very quickly" and that oil prices would "come tumbling down" as a result, according to Gulf News. He claimed that the US has taken away Iran's nuclear power and that the country is currently in a state of collapse. An Iranian government spokesperson, Fatemeh Mohajerani, rejected Trump's claims that Iran's oil minister resigned due to pressure from the US.

The Pentagon has instructed US Central Command to conclude preparations for resuming major combat operations in Iran, as reported by Axios and cited by FXStreet. There were also reactions from Democrats, who accused President Trump of encouraging Iran to attack urban centers in California, as reported by NDTV.

Brief written by urgent.news from Middle East Eye, Gulf News, FXStreet, NDTV — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.