President Trump said Thursday that Iran would deploy nuclear weapons if given the opportunity, and that preventing such an outcome requires more than military victory alone.
In an interview with Newsmax, Trump described his administration’s sweeping military campaign against Iran as historically consequential. “We’ve already won, but I want to win by a bigger margin,” he said, outlining the scope of destruction inflicted on Iranian military assets.
“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 said.
Yet he emphasized that these gains must be anchored in permanent nuclear restrictions. “We have to have guarantees they will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “The military achievements are actually not good enough” without that assurance, he added.
Trump rejected diplomatic frameworks that had offered Iran access to nuclear material for civilian purposes. “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 weapons, and we’re not going to give them a chance to do it,” he said. “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.”
Beyond the military dimension, Trump pointed to severe economic pressure engulfing Iran. “Right now, their economy is collapsing, inflation is at close to 100%,” he said. “They can’t do any oil because we have a blockade that’s 100% effective.”
Trump characterized international backing for his approach as widespread, though he faulted allied nations for passivity. “I actually think it’s very popular what I’m doing. The world is thanking me, because I shouldn’t be the one that’s doing it,” he said. “Other presidents should have done it long before me, and other countries should have done it.”
He singled out NATO for particular criticism. “We were not helped by NATO at all,” Trump stated.
(YWN World – NYC)
