US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that American forces must conduct a mission into Iran to secure nuclear assets following aerial bombardments that buried Tehran’s enrichment facilities, Anadolu reports.
“Now we’re going to take a hit, because we have to make a journey down to Iran to take the nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters.
He appeared to refer to 1,000 pounds (453.6 kilograms) of enriched uranium reportedly trapped under the debris of sites targeted during the US-Israeli offensive last June. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed the material is “under the rubble” with no immediate plans to retrieve it.
The US president asserted that Washington effectively destroyed Tehran’s nuclear capabilities. “We blew up their nuclear potential. It was obliterated,” he noted, adding that it would take the Iranians weeks to reach the material and that the US “wouldn’t let them dig down” because the military maintains constant surveillance.
Trump maintained that Tehran recognizes it has “no chance,” despite public claims to the contrary. “They express it to me when I talk to them, then they get on television, they say how well they’re doing,” he claimed.
“They don’t like playing games with us. They don’t like it at all,” said Trump.
READ: Iran says US needs to show ‘minimum good faith’ for diplomacy
Pressure for diplomatic deal
Trump asserted that Iran is eager to finalize an agreement because its “military is totally gone.”
He argued that Tehran should do the “smart thing” to avoid further conflict, stating: “We don’t want to go in and kill people.”
The president claimed that Tehran now respects Washington more than ever before due to the current pressure campaign.
When questioned about what Iran would do to count as a ceasefire violation, Trump responded with a warning: “You’ll find out.” He added that Iranian leaders “know what to do” and “what not to do” to maintain the current truce.
Economic collapse and sanctions
The US president expressed hope that the Iranian financial system fails “because we’re making it fail” through unprecedented economic restrictions.
“Their currency is worthless. Their inflation is probably 150%,” Trump claimed, describing the current measures as “tremendous sanctions” that the world has never seen before.
READ: Iran’s vision of a new legal regime in the Strait of Hormuz
