Trump Says US 'Could Leave Right Now' Iran War as Oil Stays Above $100 and Talks Remain Stalled

President Donald Trump told a rally in Park City, Kansas, on Monday night that the United States "could leave right now" the war with Iran. He announced no timetable or plan for ending military operations.

"Somebody said you could leave right now. It's true. We could leave right now. They're not going to have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.

The war is now in its eighth month. Trump announced "major combat operations" on Feb. 28 with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on military, government and infrastructure targets. A memorandum of understanding signed in June was meant to end the fighting. Talks broke down, strikes resumed, and the Strait of Hormuz remains the primary flashpoint.

What Trump claimed

Trump said Iran has no navy or air force left and that its radar and air defenses are destroyed. He said 229 Iranian fighter jets were "scattered all over the runways." Those are his own battlefield assessments, and they were not independently established by his remarks.

He also said the Iranian leadership has been gutted. "I don't know who the hell to negotiate with," he said. "Their first level of leaders gone. Their second level of leaders gone. Their third level of leaders half gone."

The remaining leaders, he said, asked him to guarantee they would not be killed "like we killed the others."

Trump then claimed Iranian authorities had killed "75,000 minimum" protesters in the past eight months. He provided no supporting evidence for that figure during the speech. Iran's record on executions is documented separately: Amnesty International recorded at least 2,159 executions in Iran in 2025, the highest annual total the organization has documented in the country since 1981.

Trump also cited the execution of wrestler Saleh Mohammadi. Mohammadi was executed in March alongside Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davoudi after Iranian authorities accused the three of killing two police officers during nationwide protests.

Oil stays above $100

On Oct. 1 in Denton, Texas, Trump said Iran "is ready to fold up," that he believes the U.S. will win the war "right after the election," and that energy prices would be "rapidly, rapidly coming" down.

Oil prices remain elevated. Brent crude settled Monday at $109.55 a barrel, down 31 cents, recovering from a session low when prices had tumbled by more than $3. U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose $2.25 to $103.66, its highest closing level since Sept. 15, according to Reuters. Investors were weighing Houthi attacks on a Yemeni military training camp and strikes targeting Saudi energy, airports and infrastructure.

Vice President JD Vance has accused Tehran of attempting to choke off global energy supplies and predicted that petrol prices will decline after the war ends.

Tehran says it is not beaten

Iranian leaders have repeatedly denied seeking a nuclear weapon. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Washington against renewed military action, saying Iran had emerged stronger after previous attacks. He also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking another war to avoid imprisonment.

Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Ali Abdollahi, also warned that another military assault would provoke a more severe response. The IRGC threatened to turn Israeli territory into "scorched earth forever" if Iran's energy infrastructure is attacked.

The IRGC Navy said an oil tanker caught fire and exploded after striking a naval mine in the southern Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. It alleged the vessel had switched off its positioning and navigation systems while attempting to leave through an unauthorized southern route. IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi separately said that seven major cables pass beneath the Strait of Hormuz and that all the world's internet and commercial data depend on them. "We are reminding the enemy of this so they know," he said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in Tehran on Monday that Russia does not intend to abandon its agreements with Iran in the economic and investment spheres. Trump said Russia is doing "very little, if anything" to help Iran.

Allies, and a Europe threat

Trump also used the rally to revisit NATO. He said his request for allied help with Iran was a test of help the U.S. "didn't need." "When we said, would you like to help? No," he said.

In a Truth Social post Monday, he wrote: "We stand with Europe, despite its flaws, its weaknesses and, hopefully, its temporary loss of direction. But if they don't soon find their way, we will have no choice but to leave." The warning did not, by itself, constitute a formal announcement of a U.S. withdrawal from Europe or NATO.

There is a contradiction in the pitch. Trump says the U.S. did not need the help, yet also called the refusal "something which I can never forget."

Planning continues

Axios reported that War Secretary Pete Hegseth met privately with Netanyahu in Israel on Monday, an unannounced meeting days ahead of Israel's national elections. Axios said both nations are discussing potentially resuming military operations against Iran. A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment.

A U.S. official told the Associated Press on Oct. 1 that three ships carrying over 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines were heading to the Middle East, including the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and the USS Makin Island amphibious readiness group. That could mean three carriers in the region as early as the end of October, and a U.S. naval presence of more than 20,000 sailors and Marines.

It is unclear whether the "leave right now" line is a rally remark or a policy. Trump has said he does not know who to negotiate with, while the Pentagon is discussing a possible resumption of operations with Israel and more ships are headed to the region.

The next markers: Israel's elections, the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 3, and whether a third carrier arrives by the end of October.