President Trump said Tuesday the rising cost of living in the U.S. is not pressuring him to make peace with Iran, and his only motivation in negotiations is to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
When asked about the extent to which the president considers Americans’ financial condition amid the talks with Iran, and how much it motivates him, Mr. Trump responded: “Not even a little bit.”
“The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran — they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” the president told reporters at the White House before departing on a trip to China. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situations, I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”
The Trump administration’s war against Iran, which began with joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Feb. 28, has grown increasingly unpopular as oil and gas prices are surging and affecting multiple industries, increasing the cost of items from grocery bills to plane tickets.
Mr. Trump has been adamant about preventing the Middle Eastern country from having a nuclear weapon. He said the reason for the initial strikes was to dismantle Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, eliminate regional threats and pursue regime change, describing the military actions as preemptive.
Washington and Tehran agreed to a ceasefire on April 7 and have been trying to negotiate a peace deal.
Mr. Trump dismissed Iran’s counterproposal on nuclear talks on Monday before telling reporters that the ceasefire is on “massive life support.”
As for easing the cost of living, he said Tuesday that his policies are “working incredibly.”
“If you go back to just before the war, for the last three months, inflation was at 1.7%,” he said.
Inflation jumped following the start of the conflict, reaching 3.3% in March and 3.8% in April 2026 — the highest level in three years. The surge was largely driven by energy costs; gasoline prices in the U.S. have climbed roughly 50% since the start of the war.
But Mr. Trump called it a “short-term” rise.
“As soon as this war is over, which will not be long, you’re going to see oil prices drop and you’re going to see the stock market, which is already at the highest point in history, go through the roof,” he said. “You’re going to see the golden age of America.”
He predicted that when the “hundreds” of oil-laden ships come out of the Strait of Hormuz — the critical shipping chokehold that found itself at the center of the conflict — “we’re going to have a gusher of oil and you’re going to have inflation that goes way down.”
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