U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States was pursuing “an even greater victory against Iran,” and the goal of stopping Tehran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“America did not start the war with Iran. Iran has been waging this war against America since 1979,” said Trump at a midterm campaign rally in Corpus Christi, Texas. “They’ve killed thousands of our soldiers and wounded so many more.”
He accused previous U.S. leaders of lacking “the courage or intelligence” to confront Tehran.
Trump also said “more oil is right now flowing out of the Hormuz Strait” and floated renaming the waterway the “Trump Strait,” asking the crowd, “Should we do it?”
.@POTUS: "Iran has been waging this war against America since 1979, killing many, many of our great people... Past leaders should've settled this problem long ago — but they didn't have the courage or intelligence to do it." pic.twitter.com/SNoFsauaoN
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 27, 2026