Vows no nuclear strike, sets no deadline
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) said he would not set any deadline for ending the conflict with Iran, asserting that Tehran is in a weakened position both militarily and economically.
“Don’t rush me,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked how long he was willing to wait for a response from Iran.
He claimed that Iran’s military infrastructure had been significantly degraded.
“Their military is totally defeated… Their Navy and Air Force are gone. Their anti-aircraft is gone,” he said, adding that Iran’s leadership had also been hit.
Trump said the United States had already struck a majority of its intended targets.
“We have hit 78% of the targets that we wanted to hit… It is amazing what we have done,” he said.
Despite these claims, Trump indicated that military action remained an option if a deal was not reached.
“If they don’t want to make a deal, then I will finish it up militarily with the other 25% targets,” he said.
‘Don’t rush me’: No deadline as pressure on Iran continues
At the same time, he stressed that he was under no pressure to conclude negotiations quickly.
“I am not under any pressure whatsoever,” he said, adding that Iran was the side facing urgency.
“You know who is under time pressure? They are,” Trump said, pointing to constraints on Iran’s oil infrastructure and storage capacity.
“If they don’t get their oil moving, their whole oil infrastructure is going to explode because they have no place to store it. Because they have no place to store it, if they have to stop it, something happens underground that essentially renders it in very poor shape, and you never recover fully… They have a matter of days before that event takes place,” Trump said.
He also reiterated that the United States would not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, while criticising the previous nuclear deal.
“They cannot have the nuclear bomb, and they are not going to have it,” he said.
Trump added that the US blockade on Iran remains in place and effective.
“We have a blockade that is 100% effective… They are not doing well economically and financially…,” he said, while also suggesting that talks with Tehran were ongoing.
“We have been speaking to them,” he said, though he claimed Iran’s leadership was struggling internally.
“They don’t even know who is leading the country… They have been obliterated,” Trump added.
Earlier, Trump had also said he would not use nuclear weapons in the conflict, stating that such weapons should never be used.
“No, I wouldn’t use it. A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody,” he said.
For now, Trump’s remarks suggest a strategy that combines pressure with patience, with no clear timeline for resolution, even as Washington claims significant progress on the battlefield.
Agencies