President Trump speaks at a Montana rally about the eight-month-long Iran war, and says he doesn’t know who ‘we’re negotiating with

President Donald Trump addressed supporters at a rally in Montana on Wednesday night and discussed the ongoing Iran conflict. He stated that he was unsure who U.S. officials were currently negotiating with in attempts to bring the fighting to a close.

During his remarks, Trump described the condition of Iran’s forces after months of conflict. “They don’t have a navy. They don’t have an air force. Their army is decimated. Their leaders are gone,” the president said, according to The Hill.

He then added, “I should have probably left their leaders because I don’t know who the h–l we’re negotiating with.” Trump traveled to Montana on Wednesday evening to campaign on behalf of Republican Aaron Flint. Flint is competing for the seat held by retiring Representative Ryan Zinke and will face Democrat Sam Forstag in the November election.

Administration officials outline conditions amid stalled talks

The conflict with Iran is approaching its eighth month. That length of time has placed the Republican Party in a difficult political position as midterm elections draw near, and Trump said the Iran war would end after election. The war has placed strain on the global economy and pushed fuel prices higher, and an increasing number of Americans point to the president’s policies as the reason for the rising costs.

Negotiations between the United States and Iran have slowed in recent weeks. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke with Fox News host Rachel Campos Duffy on Sunday about the situation. Bessent said, “I don’t know how this ends. You never know how this ends.”

Talks held at the United Nations General Assembly late last month ended without progress. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Iranian delegation “overstayed” its welcome and ordered its members to leave the United States.

Vice President Vance, who returned home from Iran talks without a deal, spoke earlier this month about what Iranian leaders would need to do regarding nuclear weapons. “I think if they want to show a commitment to not building a nuclear weapon, they would do something meaningful on their enrichment capacity,” Vance told Reuters.

He later added further detail on the American approach. “In other words, the United States is not going to do things for mere promise of actions on the Iranian side. We need to trade actions for actions here, and we’ll see what the Iranians do,” Vance said.