West Asia War: Donald Trump say he won't be rushed to end war as Iran negotiations drag on

Donald Trump. Pic/AFP

"I don't want to rush myself," said US President Donald Trump, who added that Iran's leadership is in "turmoil." Trump in an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office also pushed back against questions that the conflict is exceeding the four-to-six week timeline that he and aides previously set for the war.

"I took the country out militarily in the first four weeks. I took it out militarily," Trump said. "Now all we're doing is sitting back and seeing what deal (we make). And if they don't want to make a deal, then I'll finish it up militarily." Trump also said he's not considering using a nuclear weapon against Iran.

The president appeared perturbed when asked by a reporter if he'd consider deploying nuclear weapons against the Islamic Republic. "No, I wouldn't. We don't need it. Why do I need it? Why would a stupid question like that be asked?" Trump fumed.

He went on, "Why would I use a nuclear weapon, when we've totally, in a very conventional way, decimated them without it. No, I wouldn't use it. A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody." Trump has ordered the US military to "shoot and kill" Iranian small boats choking the Strait of Hormuz.

In a social media post Thursday morning, he said the military is intensifying its mine clearing efforts in the critical waterway. The move intensified the US-Iran standoff in the Persian Gulf and raised questions about efforts to end the war. Meanwhile, the US military said it seized another tanker Thursday associated with smuggling Iranian oil, the Majestic X, in the Indian Ocean, deepening confusion over efforts to end the war.

The seizure comes after a day after Iran attacked three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz, capturing two of them. Ship-tracking data showed the Majestic X in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The standoff between the U.S. and Iran has effectively choked off nearly all exports through the Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world's traded oil passes in peacetime, with no end in sight.

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