US President Donald Trump on Saturday said US forces heavily damaged Iran’s key oil export hub, Kharg Island, during recent strikes, and hinted the US could strike the island again.
“We totally demolished Kharg Island. We may hit it a few more times just for fun," Trump told NBC News in an interview.
Trump also said the attack avoided major energy infrastructure: “I didn’t do anything having to do with the energy lines, because having to rebuild that would take years."
Trump said Iran is ready to negotiate a ceasefire but that he is not prepared to make a deal yet.
“Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet," he explained, adding that any terms will have to be “very solid."
Asked what the terms of a potential deal to end the war would be, He replied, “I don’t want to say that to you." He agreed, however, that a commitment from Iran to completely abandon any nuclear ambitions would be part of it.
The President also cast doubt in the interview on whether Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is still alive.
“I don’t know if he’s even alive. So far, nobody’s been able to show him," said Trump.
Noting that he had heard rumors about Khamenei’s condition, the President added, “I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender."
On Friday, Trump did not commit to a definitive timeline for the war in Iran, telling Fox News Radio that the conflict would end when he feels it “in my bones."
Trump added that he did not expect the war “would be long," but emphasized that only he would know when it would end.
Trump expressed optimism that the conflict would end soon but acknowledged that it could continue indefinitely if necessary. He dismissed concerns about a potential munitions shortage.
“Nobody has the technology or the weapons that we have," he told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade in the interview. “We’re way ahead of schedule. Way ahead." He later assured that the US had “virtually unlimited ammunition. We’re using it, we’re using it. We can go forever."
On Wednesday evening, Trump spoke to reporters upon his return from a rally in Kentucky, and said Iran is being decimated and is “pretty much at the end of the line".
At the same time, Trump added that the US will not end the conflict immediately.
"They've got no Navy. They've got no Air Force. They have no systems of control. We're just riding free range over that country!" he said.
During his speech at the Kentucky rally, Trump said that the US needs to “finish the job" in the war with Iran.
He added that the Iranians “don’t know what the hell hit them. They don’t know. They got hit by the American military - they don’t know. They say, ‘What the hell is happening?’ They didn’t expect anything like this."
“We don’t want to go back every two years. Because someday there will be a time when you don’t have me as president," he added.