Trump downplays financial toll of Iran war on Americans. Here’s the latest

President Donald Trump asserted on Friday that he would "never apologize" for military actions against Iran, framing the associated financial toll on Americans, particularly higher gas prices, as a necessary sacrifice to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. "For you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember… we don’t want to have them have a nuclear weapon," Trump stated.

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I did the right thing.

Trump also announced plans to declare the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory once Iran is defeated. This declaration was met with swift opposition from Iran's deputy foreign minister, who stated the strait "cannot be seized with a tweet, an aircraft carrier, an executive order, or a campaign speech." Maritime intelligence indicates that traffic in the waterway has significantly decreased, and no truly safe shipping routes are currently available in the region.

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For you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember… we don’t want to have them have a nuclear weapon.

Adding complexity to the situation, Trump's administration has sent mixed messages regarding priorities. While the president emphasized his actions were justified, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested that maintaining low gas prices and preventing a nuclear Iran are of equal importance to him. Vice President JD Vance echoed this sentiment, prioritizing "cheap" gas and oil prices as "goal number one" and avoiding a nuclear-armed Iran as "goal number two."

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cannot be seized with a tweet, an aircraft carrier, an executive order, or a campaign speech.

Concerns were also raised about the welfare of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group. A second sailor reportedly went overboard last spring, following an earlier incident where a sailor allegedly jumped into the water during a mental health crisis. Trump dismissed these concerns, stating that families of service members had no worries about the carrier's conditions and that the ship's deployment was "not nearly long enough."

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goal number one is cheap gas and oil prices for Americans, and goal number two is to make sure Iran never gets a hold of a nuclear weapon.