President Donald Trump declared Thursday that the United States has already delivered a decisive blow to Iran’s military and leadership, but he emphasized that the conflict cannot end until Tehran is permanently blocked from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Speaking in an extensive interview with Greta Van Susteren, Trump stated: “We’ve already won, but I want to win by a bigger margin. We have destroyed their navy, destroyed their air force, destroyed all of their — if you look at their anti-aircraft equipment, their radar equipment, their leadership. Their leadership is destroyed. We’ve destroyed everything.”
Trump described Iran as severely weakened both militarily and economically, asserting that only firm guarantees against nuclear development would secure a lasting outcome. He added: “If we leave right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild, if they ever could rebuild.”
However, Trump stressed that military gains alone are insufficient: “But it’s actually not good enough… We have to have guarantees they will never have a nuclear weapon.”
The former president also warned that Iran would use any acquired nuclear weapon: “I will tell you that Iran would use the nuclear weapon if they had it. I deal with these people. I know people. They will use their nuclear weapon, and we’re not going to give them a chance to do it.”
Trump dismissed past proposals to provide Iran with nuclear material for civilian purposes, stating: “I wouldn’t have approved that. I wouldn’t have. I’m not giving them anything… They’re going to either have a nuclear weapon, or they’re not. And if they do, they’re in big trouble.”
He noted Iran’s economic collapse: “Right now, their economy is collapsing, inflation is at close to 100%. They can’t do any oil because we have a blockade that’s 100% effective.”
Trump also claimed international support for his approach and criticized allies: “I actually think it’s very popular what I’m doing. The world is thanking me… Other presidents should have done it long before me, and other countries should have done it.”
He further stated that NATO provided no meaningful assistance: “We were not helped by NATO at all.”
