OMM Newsroom
US President Donald Trump on Monday played down the possibility of renewed US strikes on Iran after Tuesday’s midterm elections, saying diplomatic efforts were advancing, Anadolu Agency reported.
Asked after a campaign event in Washington whether he was considering striking Iran again after the elections, Trump replied: “No.”
Trump said Tehran would never obtain nuclear weapons and claimed Iranian officials already understood his position. He urged voters to consider his administration’s efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons “when they go into the voting booth.”
He said stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear capabilities was vital, warning that the country “could never function in the same way” otherwise.
“We stopped that a year ago with those beautiful B-2 bombers, which hit every single mark and just put hundreds of tons of rock on top of everything,” Trump said.
Trump also said diplomatic arrangements were “coming together very nicely” and linked the prospect of an agreement to falling energy prices.
“That’s why I guess the oil prices drop so precipitously,” he said.
In a separate interview with “Axios”, Trump said he was in no rush to decide whether to resume direct military action against Iran.
“One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush,” he said.
Trump claimed US pressure had severely weakened Iran’s economy. “We crippled them financially. They have no money, no gasoline and their people are getting very tired of it,” he said.
He said communications with Tehran were “going fine”, while accusing Iranian negotiators of deliberately prolonging discussions.
“There’s less urgency (on the Iranian side) than you think there would be, but they want to make a deal more than they ever wanted,” Trump said.
His comments followed reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Washington during a phone call on Saturday to launch immediate military strikes after the midterm elections. According to “Axios”, Trump decided instead to let diplomatic negotiations continue despite Netanyahu’s concerns.
