Trump Says Iran Wants Deal But Can't Be Trusted

President Donald Trump stated that Iran desires a nuclear deal with Washington but expressed doubt about its reliability, asserting that the U.S. military could swiftly destroy remaining nuclear facilities. Speaking to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump declared, "Iran will never have nuclear weapons. They want to make a deal, we'll see what happens with that." He described the ongoing negotiations, mediated by Qatar, as "going along okay, but they're not very good negotiators. They make a deal and then they break it. They want to make a deal. We'll see if they make a deal."

Trump emphasized that the U.S. is not under time pressure to reach an agreement, citing significant damage inflicted on Iran's military capabilities. "We're not in a particular rush, considering we've knocked out their navy. We've knocked out their air force. We've knocked out their air defense. We've destroyed almost all of their military equipment. We've knocked out their nuclear program. We still have one or two sites to take care of, I would say, but we can do that in ten minutes. We probably have to look at Mount Makush. We can do all of that very quickly," he said.

However, the President did not confirm whether he intends to order renewed strikes against Iran in the immediate future. When asked by a New York Times reporter if the U.S. would resume combat operations within the week, Trump responded evasively, "Why would you ask such a silly question? If I did, would I tell you? I can't tell you things like that."

These remarks followed a report by The Wall Street Journal that Trump spoke by phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday amid rising tensions with Tehran and diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the conflict. Two days prior, Trump received a briefing at the White House from Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), who presented options for further military actions against Iran.

On Friday, Trump had claimed that the Iranian regime sought negotiations due to its severe economic difficulties. "There are talks. They want to talk. They keep talking. They're not paying their soldiers. They're not paying their police. They're in big trouble," he told reporters, reiterating that the U.S. was not in a hurry for a settlement, describing the situation as "a war, but it's not a normal war."