Trump calls 7-month Iran war a 'little excursion' again, predicts swift end and oil price plunge

US President Donald Trump again described the now seven-month-old war with Iran as a "little excursion," expressing confidence the conflict would end soon and predicting that global oil prices would plunge back to pre-war levels once it did.

Speaking at an event at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington on Tuesday (local time), Trump said the war "will end very, very soon."

"Iran will not have nuclear weapons, and they are failing very miserably," he said. "Oil prices will drop to the same level they were before I took my little excursion to Iran."

It was not the first time Trump has likened the seven-month conflict to a casual outing. He has repeatedly used the phrase "little excursion" to describe the war with Iran.

He also predicted the war's outcome would be judged favorably by history. "In a few years, people will write books and record the history of our country," Trump said. "They will say what we did was one of the most important things ever done."

Trump also made clear he has no intention of cooperating with China on artificial intelligence.

Referring to his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week, he said, "We talked about it — AI — but not very much. Why would I want to do something when we're ahead?"

He drew a firm line against any joint AI venture with China. "Someone said, 'Let's do a joint venture with China. Let's work with China,'" Trump said. "But if you do that, you're giving away all the secrets we have that China or someone else wants."

He then stressed that whoever wins the race in SI — super intelligence — takes all. "There will be winners and losers, and there probably won't be a second place," he said.

Trump, who claimed the United States is currently ahead of China in the AI race, also reaffirmed his opposition to tighter regulation of technology development. "We are ahead of China and every other country, and I want to keep it that way," he said. "The only way to keep it that way is to keep doing what we're doing. I don't want to stifle growth."

Trump said he is also moving to rename AI itself as "super intelligence," or SI. "'Fake news' is one of the great terms I came up with," he said, "but from now on I'm going to call it 'artificial news.'"

Trump's remarks came as behind-the-scenes contacts for end-of-war negotiations with Iran continue. He recently rejected a "seven-day plan" for reopening the Strait of Hormuz but has repeatedly voiced optimism that the war will end soon.