President Donald Trump said Monday that the US remains committed to reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran but warned that Washington is prepared to use military force if diplomacy fails, insisting Tehran must never acquire a nuclear weapon, Anadolu reports.
“We’re either going to make a deal or we’re going to finish the job. Okay, and it won’t be tough to finish the job. I’d rather make a deal, because I don’t want to affect 91 million people,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Trump said the US has the capability to strike Iran’s infrastructure if necessary.
“We can knock down their bridges in one hour, we can knock out their energy supply … They don’t have any money now. We haven’t given them any money.”
The president again ruled out Tehran having nuclear weapons.
“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. I’m not looking for regime change,” he added.
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Later, speaking at a Rose Garden Club Lunch at the White House, Trump said recent US military operations had weakened Iran’s military capabilities and again urged Tehran to reach an agreement.
“We wiped out their navy, their air force, their radar, their leaders. We wiped out everybody,” Trump said. “And then I heard they’re doing very well. No, they’re not doing well at all.”
Iran wants to make a deal “so badly,” Trump said.: “We’ll see what happens. They have to make the right deal, because they cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
“We’ll see what happens. We’re gonna win one way or the other. We’ll win the nice way or the not nice way.”
Trump’s remarks came after indirect US-Iran talks concluded last week without any public indication of progress toward a broader agreement, despite a 60-day ceasefire intended to provide space for diplomacy following the conflict that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
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