Trump says Iran war is 'effectively over' militarily with further strikes unlikely

Donald Trump says the Iran war "militarily is effectively over" declaring that there is "positive momentum" behind negotiations to end the Middle East conflict. "We're just keeping it the status quo," the US president said on Monday.

"And we're doing that really at the behest of countries that are their neighbours." Addressing reporters from the White House press briefing room, Trump said that renewed US attacks on Iran were "highly unlikely" but that the US was "locked and loaded" should the circumstances change. Iranian officials have repeatedly expressed doubts about the US president's prior comments about resolving the conflict.

Responding to a question over why he would not officially declare an end to the conflict, Trump said that some of the Gulf allies could still face Iranian aggression. "We have some great allies there and we have to make sure they're not hurt," Trump said, suggesting that the US naval blockade on Iranian ports was helping to make the region more secure.