US President Donald Trump warned Thursday that American forces remained prepared to launch additional strikes against Iran, although he expressed hope that further military action could be avoided.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump reiterated his determination to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons and asserted that Iran could not take action without Washington's consent.
"They’re not doing anything without our approval. Remember what I said to you: Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. They're not doing anything without our approval."
Trump also rejected comparisons between the confrontation with Iran and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
"Nobody’s been killed in about seven months, six months.And you know, if you look at Russia, Ukraine, see, that’s a war. 25,000 people being killed a month. That’s war. Iran, no," he insisted.
Asked about the possibility of renewed American military operations against Iran, the President suggested that a decision could be forthcoming.
"I would rather not destroy the rest of the country if possible, but maybe I’ll have to. You will know soon enough."
"If we have to do the rest of the Iran thing, we’re very much locked and loaded," he stressed.
The remarks came two days after Republicans suffered a major defeat in the midterm elections, with Democrats winning control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Trump also hinted that his administration was preparing several initiatives in the coming days, without providing details.
"We’re going to do a lot of things. You’ll be seeing a lot of things over the next week, two weeks. We have a lot of things cooking," he said.
Trump’s comments came hours after The New York Times reported that Iran is considering proposals put forward by international mediators concerning its nuclear program, potentially opening a path toward renewed negotiations with the United States.
The reported proposals represent a possible breakthrough following weeks of Iranian resistance to further negotiations. Officials, including one American and two Iranians, described the proposals as substantive but did not disclose their details.
On Tuesday, Trump told the Financial Times that he had no immediate plans to launch additional strikes against Iran, although American forces remained prepared for further military action.
"It's a brilliant situation," Trump said, expressing satisfaction with Washington's position.
The President also disputed the characterization of the confrontation as an ongoing war, pointing to the damage inflicted on Iran's nuclear infrastructure during previous American operations.
“We're not really in a war, because we hit them with the B2 bombers and wiped out their nuclear potential incapacity. We then hit them again, Epic Fury, etc... But if you think about it, we haven't really had a war with them in a long time, six months, maybe more."
"I don't consider that we're in war like Ukraine, wars like World War I, World War II," he added.
Trump confirmed that indirect negotiations with Tehran were continuing, including discussions about Iran's approximately 1,000-pound stockpile of enriched uranium, which he described as “nuclear dust".
"Even though it's under hundreds of tons of rock, I would say that I'm not happy that it will be there," he said. "So it's one of the things that we do talk to them about. But you know, we're having discussions, and we'll see how that all works out."
The President said American forces were "locked and loaded if we need to go, but there may be no reason for it," adding that "We seem to be getting everything we want" in the negotiations.