President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he doesn’t need Chinese President Xi Jinping to intervene in the war in Iran.
Trump spoke to reporters before departing the White House for a multiday summit with Xi in Beijing. The president voiced confidence that the conflict would soon come to a conclusion, but said the two leaders would likely discuss the topic on Thursday.
“We’re going to have a long talk about it. I think he’s been relatively good, to be honest. You look at the blockade, no problem,” the president stated. “[China gets] a lot of their oil from that area. We’ve had no problem. And he’s been a friend of mine. He’s been somebody that we get along with.”
When pressed by reporters, Trump said he didn’t think Xi needed to intervene with Iran.
“I don’t think we need any help with Iran,” said the president. “We’ll win it one way or the other. We’ll win it peacefully or otherwise. [Iran’s] navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Every single element of their war machine is gone.”
“They’ll either do the right thing, or we’re just going to finish the job,” Trump added.
Trump’s comments came as domestic gas prices continue to rise as a result of the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
TRUMP’S HORMUZ BLOCKADE UNLIKELY TO DRAWN CHINA INTO IRAN CONFLICT
The president defended the operation, claiming that the blockade is “going to work out very well.”
“I think you’re going to have so much oil, you’re gonna have a gusher of oil like you’ve never had before. So when oil goes up a little bit, I thought it would go up much more,” he claimed. “When this war is over, oil is going to drop. The stock market’s going to go through the roof, and — truly, I think we’re in the golden age right now — you’re going to see a golden age like we’ve ever seen before.”
