Trump: ‘We’re not ready to leave Iran yet, but we will in very near future’

US President Donald Trump is asked by a reporter in the Oval Office what his day-after plan is for Iran.

He avoids answering directly, but reiterates that if the US ended the war, it would take Iran 10 years to rebuild.

“We’re not ready to leave yet, but we will be leaving in the… very near future,” Trump says.

Trump also reiterates his disappointment with NATO over its members’ refusal to heed the US request to help secure the Iran-blocked Strait of Hormuz. “NATO is making a very foolish mistake.”

“You would’ve thought that they would’ve said, ‘We’d love to send a couple of mine sweepers.’ It’s not a big deal. It doesn’t cost very much money. But they didn’t do that,” he says.

“I didn’t do a full court press because I think if I did, they probably” have agreed to help, Trump claims, while again insisting that the US doesn’t need NATO’s help anyway.

The US has also asked Mideastern allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz but none of them have publicly agreed to do so either.

Asked about this, Trump praises those countries’ conduct, without confirming that they’ve agreed to join a US-led initiative in the Strait of Hormuz.

Pressed on whether there will be repercussions for NATO over its members’ refusal to heed the US call, Trump responds, “I have nothing currently in mind.”

Asked if he’s concerned about Iranian warnings that a US ground operation in Iran will turn into a Vietnam War-like scenario, Trump says, “I’m really not afraid of anything.”

He says his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping will take place in five or six weeks after being pushed back due to the Iran war.