Trump says war in Iran is going 'swimmingly' and 'should be ending pretty soon' (original) (raw)
Published Thu, Apr 16 20268:20 PM EDTUpdated Fri, Apr 17 20268:16 AM EDT
Key Points
- President Donald Trump, in remarks in Las Vegas, said the end of the war against Iran was in sight.
- "The war in Iran is going along swimmingly," Trump said. "It should be ending pretty soon."
- The president's appearance was to promote his "no tax on tips" policy, which eliminated the federal income tax on tip-based wages for many workers.
US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, April 16, 2026.
Graeme Sloan | Bloomberg | Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Thursday said that "the war in Iran is going along swimmingly."
"It should be ending pretty soon," Trump said at an event in Las Vegas, echoing similarly rosy predictions about the end of the war that he has made since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February.
"It was perfect. It's perfect. It was the power we have," the president said. "We had the most powerful military anywhere in the world."
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The president's appearance was to promote his "no tax on tips" policy, which eliminated the federal income tax on tip-based wages for many workers.
Hours earlier, Trump said that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a 10-day ceasefire. Iran has complained about Israel's continued attacks on Lebanon during its own two-week ceasefire with the United States.
Trump earlier Thursday said that a second round of face-to-face negotiations between Americans and Iranian officials could take place "probably, maybe, next weekend."
Correction: Iran has a two-week ceasefire with the United States. An earlier version misstated the time frame.