Trump Tells Americans to Weigh Gas Prices Against Nuclear Attack as Doubts Over Iran War Grow

WASHINGTON/TEHRAN U.S. President Donald Trump has told Americans the real danger in the Iran conflict is not high gasoline prices but the prospect of a nuclear attack.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday and at an announcement of a $15 billion steel plant in Iowa, Trump was asked whether high fuel prices would last into October. He replied that anyone wanting to see chaos and destruction should let Iran destroy a city with a nuclear weapon. He said he was not talking only about Israel and large parts of the Middle East, adding: “Let them attack us with a nuclear weapon too.”
Trump also claimed Iran’s nuclear program had already been neutralized by U.S. strikes, a claim seen as highlighting the administration’s shifting justification for the war. A recent poll found about three in four U.S. adults doubt Trump has a plan to end the conflict. The administration has offered Congress no evidence that Iranian nuclear sites were being reactivated after the February strikes, while former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified to the contrary under oath in March, according to the report.
Trump also discussed the arrest of five suspects at Britain’s RAF Fairford air base on terrorism and explosives charges. Alleging possible Iranian government links, he said “we know everything about them,” but declined to give details. British police said all five are London-based British citizens, and they were released on bail Monday. The Iranian embassy denied any connection.
Separately, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned Tuesday, according to state news agency IRNA, that if Iran is blocked from selling oil, no country in the region will be able to sell oil. He said no infrastructure would be safe if Iran’s security is not guaranteed, and that Iran would not back down from air or trade blockades, promising a “powerful and immediate” response to any threat.
The warning followed Trump’s Saturday rejection of an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days in exchange for lifting sanctions and restoring frozen assets. Trump insisted Washington already has “full control” of the waterway. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Monday that Qatari mediators would present Washington with new proposals to meet Iran’s demands.