Trump defends Iran war during Veterans Day address, says he is making the world 'safer'

President Donald Trump defended the war in Iran and said it will be over "soon" during his Veterans Day address on Wednesday.

Trump made the statement while speaking to a crowd of veterans and their families at Arlington National Cemetery. He highlighted the 1983 Iran-backed bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut and argued that Iran has been at war with the U.S. for decades.

"America did not start a war with Iran. Iran has been waging war on America since 1979. They should have been taken care of a long time ago," Trump said.

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"And it was just about time somebody fought back. All of us fought back. We fought back, and we fought back. We won. Now the question is when we want to end. We must have a total victory. Not a 93% victory. It's going to be total," he continued.

Trump noted that of the roughly seven months of conflict, "only a few weeks were active fighting," but he acknowledged the casualties America sustained.

"We lost 18 beautiful souls," Trump said. "When this conflict is over, and it will be soon, the entire world will be much safer, a better place, more peaceful place and a place without the kind of danger that we had to suffer."

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Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have shied away from plans to re-escalate the conflict with Iran following the midterm elections.

Administration officials have instead pointed to economic and diplomatic solutions to the conflict.

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"We don't need to conduct military strikes if we're achieving the same objective through economic means and economic pressure," Rubio told reporters on Tuesday.

He rejected the suggestion that the U.S. and Iran were at a stalemate, arguing that sanctions, the naval blockade and other measures were steadily weakening Tehran.

"They’re bleeding. They’re bleeding economically," Rubio said. "It is an increased pressure on Iran that continues to grow every day."

Fox News' Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.