“Iran will never have a nuclear weapon under the agreement… under nuclear weapon Iran will be blown to smithereens, all hell will break loose,” Donald Trump on Tuesday during his meeting with Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7.
The president of the U.S. appeared to be attempting to allay the reservations of both Israel and U.S. intelligence agencies regarding the agreement.
“We have finalized our agreement with Iran. It should be successful… It is moving into a second phase, which I believe will be easier,” he said.
“I never cared about regime change, but I suppose there is regime change in Iran,” he claimed. “I don’t believe in regime change. I’ve been watching regime changes for years, and they never work. It just has to happen (on its own),” he argued.
“I suggested to Israel that it let Syria ‘take care’ of Hezbollah. If Israel can’t do the ‘job’ without killing everyone, let Syria do the ‘job.’ To be honest with you, I think they would do a better job,” he even stated.
Trump criticized Israel’s methods in Lebanon. “You don’t have to tear down an apartment building every time you’re looking for someone. There are a lot of people in those buildings, and not all of them are Hezbollah, I can tell you that…”.
“Netanyahu must now be more responsible regarding Lebanon…”
When asked if he is annoyed with the Israeli prime minister, he replied, “No, we have an excellent relationship… But without the U.S., there would be no Israel right now. Every smart person knows that.”
“Under my deal, if Iran gets nuclear weapons, it will be blown to smithereens. Under Obama’s deal, they were allowed to have nuclear weapons. Netanyahu begged Obama not to make a deal with Iran, he begged… Obama’s deal with Iran was the dumbest deal I’ve ever seen, except for NAFTA. NAFTA was perhaps even dumber.”
“Obama sold out Israel for Iran. He went to Iran. Anyone who could have voted for that guy or that party—I call them the Stupidocrats, because they’re stupid.”
“Iran even hit Turkey once. I never understood it. No one is going to understand it. That’s the problem. They are completely irrational people, and those people are now gone. I think Iran now has a rational leadership.”
“The current Iranian leadership consists of very reasonable people. They are pleasant to deal with. They are strong and intelligent people. They are not radicalized and seek to help their country,” insisted the U.S. president.
In response to a reporter’s observation that “the Iranian regime continues to kill its own people,” the president replied that the majority of these (executions) took place during the first and second regimes, far more than now.”
“Qatar and Iran share a land border, and you can walk from one country to the other,” the U.S. president claimed, even though the two countries do not share a land border.
“You fought and helped us with great bravery. You will always be my friend,” said the American president to the emir.
Regarding the war in Ukraine , he commented that “Russia must reach an agreement. Russia has lost a huge number of people. So has Ukraine.”
It should be noted that the CIA questions Iran’s commitment to the agreement with Trump. Assessments by U.S. intelligence agencies have cast doubt on Tehran’s willingness to make key concessions, even as the administration moves toward a formal agreement. “What we know is that this deal will make Israel safer,” Vance assured.
On Monday, Benjamin Netanyahu stated that “with or without an agreement, Iran will not acquire nuclear weapons,” emphasizing that Israeli policy toward the Iranian nuclear program remains unchanged. Netanyahu, in his first press conference since March, stated that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is a “lifelong mission” for him.
Israeli media point out that “Trump’s negligent handling of the talks with Iran has returned Israel to a reality of limited freedom of action and weakened deterrence, revealing the gap between brilliant military execution and failed strategy.”
The Iranian Foreign Minister clarified that the upcoming U.S.-Iran negotiations will be divided into two stages or phases. The next stage of the negotiations will cover nuclear issues and the lifting of sanctions, which will be resolved in a final agreement, he added. The Speaker of the Iranian ParliamentMohammad Bagher Ghalibaf will lead Iran’s negotiating team in Switzerland following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding.
