Trump says Iran talks on, warns against nuclear weapon
Photo: REUTERS
United States President Donald Trump said on Saturday communication between Washington and Tehran remains ongoing, and while the US is “locked and loaded,” he believes a previously threatened “massive” strike might not be necessary.
During the annual correspondents’ dinner in Washington, DC, Trump revealed that Iranian officials are in discussions with American representatives.
He remarked, “They are talking to us right now; they’d love to make a deal. I don’t think they’re ready to. I don’t think it’s time yet, but I’m willing to listen, but they cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump expressed a firm conviction that Tehran must not obtain such weaponry, warning that “they would use it. They would use it if they had it.”
He asserted that US military strikes have fundamentally weakened Iranian forces, claiming, “We’ve hit Iran very hard there.” Describing the scale of the damage, Trump noted that “their navy is gone” and “their air force is gone,” specifically highlighting that there are “250 jets no longer” and “159 boats” at the bottom of the sea.
Trump continued his assessment by saying, “They have no radar, they have very few drones left, despite what you see every once in a while, they’re going to set some things up, but they don’t have much left.”
According to the Trump, the primary objective of these military pressures is to ensure “we will not let them have a nuclear weapon.”
In response to these developments, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared that Tehran does not fear threats and will not surrender to outside pressure. Simultaneously, the Iranian military announced that it had launched strikes targeting American bases located in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan.
In a separate development, the Israeli military has commenced “counterterrorism” operations and imposed a curfew in the occupied West Bank. This move follows a violent encounter southwest of Nablus on Friday, which resulted in six fatalities, including four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers.
Source: Al Jazeera (adapted)
