Context: Donald Trump stated that the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran blocks, will “open itself” at a certain point. He also accused NATO countries of being cowards for not helping him unblock the strait. The Strait of Hormuz is a major shipping route for oil from the Persian Gulf to countries around the world. After Iran blocked the strait for tankers in response to U.S. missile strikes, oil prices rose.
The Belarusian state ONT TV channel channel discussed the situation in the Middle East. In the March 17, 2026 edition, Aliaksandr Averkau, host of Nashi Novosti, spoke about Iran’s resistance:
“Even Trump is surprised by the intensity of Tehran’s strikes. The White House chief was asked again about the timeline for ending the conflict.”
A segment of Trump’s March 16 conversation with reporters was then presented to viewers, accompanied by the following translation:
“I think it’s going to happen very soon. But definitely not this week. I was forced to participate in this operation, but I didn’t anticipate such resistance. We were shocked. They have tremendous power; they have thousands of missiles. I thought Iran would go down much sooner. People largely don’t understand that it’s a big chess game at a very high level. It’s a very high-level chess, the highest. And I’m dealing with some very smart players.”
However, Trump was talking about something else in the original comment at that moment. He spoke about how the stock market reacts to events in the Middle East and rising oil prices.
“You want to see a stock market go down? Start letting them hit you with nukes. Okay. Uh, I think I said it this morning. I think it’s a very small price to pay, and frankly, I thought it was going to go down much more if you want to know the truth. I assume that it was going to go down much more, only because people don’t understand to a large... It’s a big chess game at a very high level. It’s a very high-level chess, the highest,” the U.S. president said in the original segment.
Therefore, in that snippet, Trump didn’t mention thousands of missiles or Iran’s power. He didn’t say that he expected Iran to go down soon, either. These words were layered over the original video as a translation, but they do not correspond to the original remark.
However, the question regarding the timing of the war’s end was indeed addressed in the conversation. A reporter asked Trump whether the conflict could be wrapped up that week. Trump replied, “Yeah, sure.” The journalist clarified, “Will we?” Trump responded, “I don’t think so. But it’ll be soon.”
In his other speeches, Trump referred to Iran as a powerful country and mentioned that it has “thousands and thousands of missiles.” However, the meaning of those words was different. During a press conference on March 9, 2026, he said:
“Iran, it’s a very powerful country. <...> They had thousands and thousands since their last hit. They had thousands and thousands of missiles and everything else. Most are now destroyed.”
The ONT TV channel story’s claim that Trump didn’t expect resistance is also inaccurate. In fact, he stated that he did not expect Iran to attack neighboring countries that are not involved in the conflict. There is also no reason to claim that Trump expected Iran to fall quickly. On the contrary, Trump’s remarks on the subject had the opposite meaning. According to him, the war is ahead of schedule.
Thus, the ONT TV channel misrepresented Donald Trump’s actual comments about the market and oil as statements about Iran’s military power and unexpected resistance. Viewers were presented with a distorted translation that altered the meaning of his remarks, creating the false impression that the U.S. president had publicly acknowledged Tehran’s power and admitted to misjudging the conflict.
