Trump Says Iran Threat Could Have ‘Blown Apart’ Middle East, Europe, Rules Out Early Exit

US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) said military action was taken against Iran’s nuclear programme to save the Gulf region, including Israel, from the threat posed if Tehran had been successful in having a nuclear weapon.

Speaking at The Villages in Florida, Trump described the stakes of the confrontation with Iran.

“Because we have to take a little journey down to a beautiful country known as Iran, and we have to make sure that they don’t have a nuclear weapon. He added, “We stopped them with the B2 bombers. If we didn’t do that, they would’ve had a nuclear weapon. Israel, the Middle East, and Europe would have been blown to pieces.”

He also claimed Iran’s military capacity had been significantly degraded, with the claim that the Iranian leadership had been weakened. “And Iran is getting decimated. They have no navy. They have no air force. They have no anti-aircraft equipment. They have no radar. They have no leaders; their leaders are all gone,” Trump said.

Trump said negotiations with Iran were not progressing as desired.”They’re not coming through with the kind of deal that we have to have, and we’re going to get this thing done properly,” he said.

He also stressed that the United States would not end the conflict prematurely. “We’re not going to leave early and have this kind of problem arise in three more years,” Trump said.

Earlier, speaking to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House before departing for Florida, Trump linked the conflict to global energy and security outcomes.

“Gasoline’s high, other prices are way down, but gasoline’s high, but when this is over, you’ll have a world without a nuclear weapon with Iran,” he said. “If you allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, the world would be in great jeopardy. So it’s not going to happen. As soon as the, as soon as the war ends, the gasoline prices will come down.”

Trump expressed dissatisfaction with Iran’s latest proposal aimed at ending the ongoing conflict, while also casting doubt on whether a final agreement can be reached.

Trump said, “They want to make a deal, but I’m not satisfied with it, so we’ll see what happens.”

He did not elaborate on the specific aspects of the proposal he found unacceptable but indicated uncertainty over Tehran’s willingness to ultimately agree to a settlement.

“They’ve made strides, but I’m not sure if they ever get there,” Trump added, while speaking on the White House’s South Lawn.

The US President also pointed to internal divisions within Iran’s leadership, suggesting that disunity could be affecting the negotiation process.

“The leadership is very disjointed. It’s got two to three groups, maybe four, and it’s a very disjointed leadership. And with that being said, they all want to make a deal, but they’re all messed up,” the US President said.

His remarks come after Iran submitted its latest proposal aimed at advancing negotiations to end the ongoing West Asia conflict with the US, in response to recent amendments introduced by Washington to a draft plan aimed at ending the conflict. (ANI)