US President Donald Trump asserted Thursday that the United States has delivered a devastating blow to Iran’s military infrastructure and leadership, yet stressed that the conflict will not conclude without ironclad assurances that Tehran will never acquire nuclear weapons.
In an extensive interview with Newsmax’s Greta Van Susteren, the president expressed confidence in the success of American actions while emphasizing the need for a more decisive outcome.
“We’ve already won, but I want to win by a bigger margin," Trump said. “We have destroyed their navy, destroyed their air force, destroyed all of their - if you look at their anti-aircraft equipment, their radar equipment, their leadership. Their leadership is destroyed. We’ve destroyed everything."
Trump portrayed Iran as significantly weakened both militarily and economically. He noted that the country’s ability to recover from the damage inflicted has been greatly diminished. “If we leave right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild, if they ever could rebuild," he said.
Despite these achievements, the president maintained that military success alone is insufficient to secure lasting peace. “But it’s actually not good enough," he said. “We have to have guarantees they will never have a nuclear weapon."
Trump voiced strong conviction that Iran would not hesitate to use a nuclear weapon if it obtained one. “I will tell you that Iran would use the nuclear weapon if they had it," he said. “I deal with these people. I know people. They will use their nuclear weapon, and we’re not going to give them a chance to do it."
The president rejected earlier ideas of allowing Iran access to nuclear material for civilian purposes. “I wouldn’t have approved that. I wouldn’t have. I’m not giving them anything," Trump said. “They’re going to either have a nuclear weapon, or they’re not. And if they do, they’re in big trouble."
Trump highlighted the severe economic difficulties currently facing Iran. “Right now, their economy is collapsing, inflation is at close to 100%," he said. “They can’t do any oil because we have a blockade that’s 100% effective."
He expressed the view that his administration’s approach enjoys broad international support, while criticizing previous leaders and allies for failing to act more decisively. “I actually think it’s very popular what I’m doing," Trump said. “The world is thanking me, because I shouldn’t be the one that’s doing it. Other presidents should have done it long before me, and other countries should have done it."
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office earlier on Thursday that Iran is "dying to make a deal," adding that "hopefully it can be worked out very soon."
Asked about the future of negotiations, Trump replied, "Nobody knows what the talks are except myself and a couple of other people."
"I mean, Iran is dying to make a deal. I can only tell you that. I don't want to get into it, but they got - they cannot be nuclear other than that. But they are," he added.
Trump stressed, “The bottom line is for this world, for our country, but certainly for Israel, the Middle East and Europe, much closer, you cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon."
Trump last weekend cancelled a visit by his envoys to Islamabad for talks with Iran. On Wednesday, he told reporters that efforts to bring an end to the war with Iran are continuing through telephone conversations rather than in-person meetings.
The US President’s comments were made after he rejected Iran’s most recent proposal, telling Axios that he intends to maintain a naval blockade on Iran until Tehran agrees to terms addressing American concerns over its nuclear program.
The Iranian proposal rejected by Trump envisions reopening the Strait of Hormuz while postponing discussions on Iran’s nuclear activities.