Trump Defends Iran War, Claims US Recovered Costs Through Venezuela: ‘We Have Time’

October 31, 2026

Washington: US President Donald Trump has defended the actions of his administration to wage war with Iran, claiming they have made their money back in Venezuela. He has also suggested they can wage the war for some time as they have “time”.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Friday (local time), Trump said the situation with Iran is “not a normal war” and they had stopped Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon.

“It’s a war but it’s not a normal war. We have been in there for seven months,” Trump said in the Oval Office.

He also downplayed the economic impact of the war, claiming they had made their money back numerous times in Venezuela.

“We are not spending much money. You know somebody said we are spending money. We have made our money back many times over in Venezuela. So we have made our money back 10 times.”

Trump Claims Iran Wants To Talk But Struggling With Cash

Trump has again claimed Iran wants to negotiate with the US. He added however that Tehran are struggling financially.

He didn’t however give any evidence to back up his claims.

The US president also criticised Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna who had questioned his administration over the increasing costs of the Iran war.

“He’s a lightweight. We took action against Iran because we needed to. We needed to take action to make sure they couldn’t develop a nuclear weapon.

“I spent a lot of money to get rid of a nuclear weapon. And we have done that.”

Trump defends actions In Venezuela As He Questions War Costs

Trump also mentioned the actions taken against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by his administration, stating they have made much more money from Venezuela than they spent on the war with Iran.

“We have made much more money from Venezuela. We have made much more money than we have spent on Iran. Hundreds of billions of dollars many, many times.”

However no stats were given to back up his claims.

Pressure On Trump Administration Over Iran War Ahead Of Midterms

The Trump administration is coming under increasing pressure over the situation with Iran ahead of the mid term elections on November 3.

Trump however has continued to defend his decisions over the military action. He has previously suggested he may launch further attacks on Iran but no new action has been reported.

It remains to be seen how Washington will deal with the next stages of the conflict.