Trump says 'bully' Iran humbled, will not revive nuclear program
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites had dealt a blow to the Middle East's "bully" that convinced them not to restart the program.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites had dealt a blow to the Middle East's "bully" that convinced them not to restart the program.
Trump said Iran would now seek global reintegration and economic recovery rather than pursuing nuclear weapons. Tehran denies seeking a bomb.
“I think Iran is going to be a country that wants to get back into the world of good economies,” Trump told Fox News in Israel. “The last thing they're going to do is get into the nuclear world again, because look what it’s gotten them, and I would just have to do it again.”
“The bully of the Middle East has been taken down,” Trump said. “And I think the bully of the Middle East may very well turn out to be a very productive partner for a lot of other countries, much different than what they look like before.”
On June 13, Israel launched a surprise military strike on Iran, targeting senior military officials and key nuclear sites. The United States joined the campaign on June 22, striking Iran’s key nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
In response, Iran fired scores of missiles and drones toward Israel. The United States brokered a ceasefire on June 24.
“They don't have a nuclear program; it was obliterated,” Trump added. “It was those B-2 pilots and 30 Tomahawks coming in from submarines. It was complete and total obliteration.”
Trump said the administration was in touch with Iranian officials. Asked if he was speaking to Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, he declined to elaborate. “I don’t want to say who, but we speak to him quite often, actually."
Iran was invited to attend a peace conference in Egypt chaired by Trump, but Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declined.
Leaders of over 20 countries participated in the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit, co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Trump.
A troika of European powers triggered the reimposition of international sanctions on Iran last month, accusing Tehran of spurning diplomacy and nuclear inspections.
Trump reinstated the so-called "maximum pressure" campaign of US sanctions when he resumed office in January.
Under Trump’s Gaza peace plan, Israel would maintain a military presence along Gaza’s border, while an international force—composed largely of troops from Arab and Muslim nations—would oversee security inside the territory.
The United States would lead a major, internationally funded reconstruction effort in the war-ravaged enclave.
