US President Donald Trump said that Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and that the United States was hoping to get back to the negotiating table.
In a conversation with Fox News, Trump said that, “Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see. There are several people in leadership that will not be coming back”, in reference to some of the Iranian leaders who were killed in the airstrikes.
His response comes in the aftermath of large scale airstrikes launched by Israel against Iran on June 13th.
In a Truth Social post after the attack, Trump wrote, “I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal. I told them, in the strongest of words, to “just do it,” but no matter how hard they tried, no matter how close they got, they just couldn’t get it done.”
He added that he had warned Iran that “United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World”, and that “Israel has a lot of it…And they know how to use it”.However, Trump noted that, “Iranian hardliners spoke bravely, but they didn’t know what was about to happen. They are all DEAD now, and it will only get worse!”
He advised Iran to make a deal, “JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE”, he said.During a press briefing at the White House hours before the attack, Trump had said that Israel may be preparing to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“I don’t want to say it’s imminent, but it looks like something that could very well happen,” Trump told reporters when asked whether Israel would launch an attack on Iran.
“Look, it’s very simple. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “Other than that, I want them to be successful. I want them to be tremendous. We’ll help them succeed, we’ll trade with them, we’ll do whatever is necessary.”
He also added that he would “prefer an agreement” and said that, “If I think there’s a chance at a deal, I don’t want [Israel] going in-because I think it could ruin it. It might even help it, but it could also blow it.”A sixth round of Iran-US talks had been scheduled to begin on Sunday in Oman.
Israel pounded Iran in a series of air strikes on Friday, hitting as many as 100 targets, including Tehran’s nuclear and military sites. Two of Iran’s top Military commanders and at least six top nuclear scientists were killed in the attack.
In retaliation, Tehran launched 100 drones towards Israel, with the Israeli Military saying its air defences were intercepting them outside Israeli territory.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has warned Israel it faced a “bitter and painful” fate over the attacks.