Trump Claims Iran Near Surrender Amid G7 Concerns Over Oil and Conflict

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U.S. President Donald Trump told fellow G7 leaders in a virtual meeting this week that Iran is “about to surrender,” even as Tehran’s new supreme leader vowed to escalate the fight and attacks on Gulf shipping pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel.axios +1

The remarks came during a Wednesday video call dominated by the two-week-old U.S.-Israeli air campaign against Iran, known as Operation Epic Fury, which has targeted Iranian military infrastructure and leadership and triggered retaliatory strikes across the region.axios +1 Three officials from G7 countries briefed on the conversation said Trump boasted he had “got rid of a cancer that was threatening us all,” while insisting victory was near.axios +1 The White House declined to comment on the reported remarks.reuters

Allies Press for De-escalation as Iran Signals Defiance

Several European leaders on the call, including Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz, France’s President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, pushed back, urging Trump to move quickly toward an endgame and to prioritize securing the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for about a fifth of the world’s oil shipments.axios Axios reported that at least two oil tankers were set ablaze off Iraq’s coast around the time of the call, amid a broader pattern of Iranian threats to shipping that has roiled energy markets.axios

Roughly 24 hours after Trump’s comments, Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, issued his first public statement since succeeding his late father, vowing to keep fighting and to “open new fronts” rather than contemplate surrender.axios +1 Iranian forces and allied militias have continued strikes across the Gulf, and Western officials say there is no sign Tehran is preparing to capitulate despite what U.S. officials describe as serious damage to Iran’s air force and navy.english

Trump’s Victory Talk Collides With White House Divisions and Oil Shock

Inside Washington, Trump’s confident tone contrasted with a deep split among his own advisers over how—and when—to end the campaign. Economic aides have warned that surging oil and gasoline prices could trigger a domestic political backlash, pressing for a limited operation and swift declaration of success.iranintl Hawkish national security officials, by contrast, argue that sustained pressure is needed to prevent Iran from reconstituting its nuclear and missile programs and to force broader concessions.turkiyetoday +1

The energy shock has already pushed the administration into unusual policy moves. The U.S. Treasury this week issued a 30‑day waiver allowing sanctioned Russian oil already at sea to be sold, part of a coordinated G7 effort to calm markets even as the conflict with Iran raged.axios +1 Oil prices, which briefly neared $120 a barrel in recent days, have since eased but remain above $100, leaving finance ministers debating additional steps, including possible releases from strategic reserves.firstpost

The Bigger Picture

Trump’s private assurances to G7 counterparts that Iran is on the brink of surrender underscored his desire to frame Operation Epic Fury as a swift, decisive success, yet events on the ground and divisions within his own government pointed to a more uncertain trajectory. With Iran’s leadership pledging continued resistance, tanker attacks threatening a key maritime artery and G7 economies scrambling to cushion the oil shock, the central questions now are not only whether Trump can secure the kind of capitulation he has demanded, but how long allies—and voters at home—will tolerate the costs of finding out.axios +2

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Trump Claims Iran Near Surrender Amid G7 Concerns Over Oil and Conflict

Allies Press for De-escalation as Iran Signals Defiance

Trump’s Victory Talk Collides With White House Divisions and Oil Shock

The Bigger Picture