Troy Downing

Rep. Troy Downing, R-Mont., said Wednesday that Iran is "on their knees" militarily and economically and predicted the U.S.-led conflict with Tehran is nearing an end during an appearance on Newsmax's "Wake Up America" as President Donald Trump prepares to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The interview aired as Trump arrived in Beijing. The Iran war and the disputed Strait of Hormuz are expected to figure prominently alongside trade, Taiwan, and artificial intelligence on the summit agenda.

Downing, a freshman lawmaker, Air Force veteran, and member of the House Financial Services Committee, said he hopes the meeting accelerates an end to the conflict.

"There's so much going on in the world right now," he said, citing the Iran war as a burden on U.S. allies.

He framed Tehran as financially and operationally broken. "They're on their knees," Downing said. "They're burning through $500 million a day, and nobody knows who's in control there."

He added that Iran's "first, second, and third tier" of command and control had been "wiped out," leaving "the folks with the guns" to make decisions.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed Feb. 28 alongside roughly 40 senior commanders in the opening U.S. and Israeli strikes. Additional officials, including security chief Ali Larijani, were killed in subsequent attacks.

The Montana Republican praised Trump for what he called Project Freedom, a U.S. military effort to escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran moved to block the waterway.

"I applaud the president with Operation Freedom and make sure that we're not allowing the Iranians to break international maritime law, trying to create a tollbooth through the Strait of Hormuz," he said.

Trump paused the operation on May 5, citing requests from Pakistan and other countries, along with what he described as progress toward a settlement.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the same day that the broader campaign, Operation Epic Fury, had achieved its objectives and concluded, although Trump warned bombing would resume at a higher intensity if Iran failed to comply.

Asked whether the Trump-Xi meeting could yield progress on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, Downing predicted a near-term resolution. He said Iran had lost its leadership and was being run by the military, and said the regime would soon exhaust the resources needed to fight or even survive under U.S. economic pressure.

"This is coming to an end quickly, in my opinion," he said.

The summit marks the first state visit by a U.S. president to China since Trump's 2017 trip.

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