Trump reiterates: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon

Donald Trump repeated his warning that Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon, saying the consequences would extend far beyond Israel. In an interview with Fox News, the US president described Iran as a leading state sponsor of terrorism and said a nuclear weapon would bring “massive destruction.”

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They cannot have a nuclear weapon.

Trump defended US action against Tehran by asking critics whether they believed Iran should possess such a weapon. He said most people answered no, including those who had challenged him over the measures taken against Iran.

He portrayed the pressure campaign as highly effective. Trump said the blockade and financial restrictions were hitting Iran harder than any previous measures and described the country as failing. He added that the United States would either win or see Iran take another action, saying he did not need a formal agreement to define victory.

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A nuclear weapon is massive destruction, you know, take what you see and multiply times a hundred.

Trump also claimed that Iran’s navy, air force, air defenses and leadership had been wiped out. He called Iranians tough and intelligent, while also describing them as evil. He further alleged that Iranian forces had killed 52,000 protesters as of three months earlier and had added substantially to that number since then.

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But we're doing a great job. The blockade has been unbelievable. The financial hits that we're giving them, we're hitting them very hard.

Trump said Iran had targeted or threatened Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait after fighting began. He argued that these countries had moved away from their previous neutrality toward Tehran. If Iran had possessed a nuclear weapon, he said, Israel would have been destroyed, followed by the wider Middle East and possibly Europe or the United States.

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If I weren't president, Israel would be gone. There would be no Israel. And there would probably be no Middle East.