President Donald Trump spoke to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday. He said the cost of the war with Iran is not a problem.

He claimed that money from Venezuela has covered those costs many times over. Trump said:

Any money we’ve spent in Iran, we’ve more than made up for with what we did in Venezuela, taken in hundreds of billions of dollars, many, many times.

US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

He also said the gains were about 10 times the spending. Trump described the Iran conflict as “not a typical war.” He said it has lasted seven months and that the United States is spending very little money compared to other wars.


He criticized Democratic Representative Ro Khanna and called him a “lightweight.” Trump said the campaign stopped Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. He also said Iran is having trouble paying its soldiers and police and still wants to talk. Trump added that the United States has time.

These comments came as some reports suggested the United States might restart attacks on Iran after the midterm elections in November.

The Pentagon estimates the direct cost of the Iran campaign at $29 billion to $47.1 billion as of mid-October. Most of that money went to replace weapons and equipment.

Independent studies, including one by the Financial Times, show the United States has collected about $13 billion from Venezuelan oil since January, when Nicolás Maduro was removed from power. The money is held in U.S. Treasury accounts. Some of it has gone to the Venezuelan government. Fact-checkers say Trump’s claim of “hundreds of billions” is much higher than the real figures.

Trump has made similar claims before, saying Venezuelan oil paid for the Iran war “25 times over.” Recently, the White House said Venezuela sent one million barrels of oil to the United States at no cost. Trump did not give exact numbers to support his latest statements. Officials say the oil money helps run government operations, but some members of Congress still want clearer details about where the money is going.