Trump claims Iran "desperately" seeks talks to stop being "decimated"

President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Tehran, vowing to strike "very, very powerfully" any site where Iran contemplates rebuilding nuclear capabilities. He asserted that the regime "desperately" desires dialogue to escape what he described as being "decimated."

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You don't know what the dialogue is behind the scenes, that they want to meet desperately, to try and end it because they're getting decimated. You don't get that when you listen to your fake station, but, you don't know. You don't know anything.

Speaking at the Oval Office, Trump pushed back against claims that Tehran shows no signs of de-escalation. He suggested intense, behind-the-scenes negotiations are occurring, criticizing media outlets for allegedly misrepresenting the situation. "You don't know what the dialogue is behind the scenes, that they want to meet desperately, to try and end it because they're getting decimated," Trump stated.

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if we didn't do the B2 bombers knocking out the nuclear sites a year ago, one of the first things we did early in the administration, they [Iran] would have a nuclear weapon, and you wouldn't have Israel.

The president also revisited past administration decisions, arguing that withdrawing from the Obama-era nuclear deal and conducting military actions against Iran's nuclear infrastructure had averted an existential crisis for Israel and the region. "if we didn't do the B2 bombers knocking out the nuclear sites a year ago... they [Iran] would have a nuclear weapon, and you wouldn't have Israel," he claimed.

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Any site where they're even thinking about nuclear -- we'll be hitting it very, very powerfully.

Trump further warned Iran against targeting commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, stating that any such actions would be met with a response "10x harder." He acknowledged that Iranian forces had "slipped something through in Jordan" in a recent attack that killed U.S. service members and announced his intention to travel to Dover Air Force Base to honor them.

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Iran's been given every opportunity to negotiate, to show that they're reasonable on the Strait of Hormuz--but if they're going to shoot at commercial shipping, then we're going to hit them 10x harder.