President Donald Trump and the White House continue to present mixed messaging on the conflict in Iran.
The president repeated claims on Wednesday that the conflict was "won."
Reporter: You just said it is a little excursion, and you said it is a war. So which one is it?
President Trump: Well, it's both. It's an excursion that will keep us out of a war, and the war is going to be — for them it's a war, for us it turned out to be easier than we thought.
"We've won. We've won," President Trump said during an appearance in Hebron, Kentucky, on Wednesday. "You never like to say too early you won. We won. In the first hour it was over."
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Meanwhile, the fighting continues in Iran and in the Middle East region. At least 7 U.S. service members have been killed and about 140 have been wounded, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
Administration officials have said the conflict is necessary, especially as fighting over the Strait of Hormuz causes severe volatility in oil markets worldwide.
"This is an operation that will take weeks, not months, but in the short term pain for the long term gain. But it's simply a must achieve thing," Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.
U.S. officials have not given a specific timeline for when they may consider their objectives in the conflict achieved.
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The comments come as officials in Iran warn America will have to pay the price for a war it started.
"Trump has said again: 'We must win this war quickly,'" said Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, in a social media message. "Starting a war is easy, but ending it won't happen with a few tweets. We won't let you off the hook until you admit your mistake and pay the price for it."
Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Thursday Iran would continue its strikes on Gulf neighbors as it seeks to use more leverage over the Strait of Hormuz.
