Arabic version: ترامب يصف الصراع مع إيران بأنه «أمر بسيط»

According to The Guardian, President Donald Trump minimized the conflict with Iran while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, describing it as “small potatoes” even as 18 US service members have been killed.

“A lot of people don’t call it a war. I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us. It’s not a big thing,” Trump said. He contrasted the deaths with US losses in Vietnam and other conflicts, saying the United States had lost nobody in Venezuela.

When asked about the 18 deaths and record-long deployments, Trump repeatedly asked how long the US had been in Vietnam, adding: “We’re at five months now.” The conflict began in late February, nearly seven months earlier, the report said.

The war has killed thousands of Iranians and wounded more than 750 US service members, according to the report. It has also brought higher gas prices and disrupted food supply chains worldwide as a blockade over the Strait of Hormuz stifled trade and oil supply.

Trump said there was “no fighting right now,” despite US strikes on Iran this week, and said the US was taking out oil and controlled the Hormuz Strait. The report said those statements were not accurate. Trump also said the US could strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, where nuclear facilities are reportedly housed, “very soon.”