Trump Says Unclear If Iran Still Has A Nuclear Program As Israel Continues To Attack
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Synopsis
The President revealed that although he could not get Iran to do a nuclear deal, Israeli strikes give them a stronger incentive to come to the table.
President Donald Trump on Friday expressed skepticism about Iran’s nuclear program, wondering if the country even has one anymore after Israel’s strikes aimed at taking out uranium enrichment sites, scientists, and military leaders.
Trump told Axios that the chances of the U.S. and Iran striking a nuclear deal have actually improved after Israeli strikes.
“Maybe now they will negotiate seriously,” Trump said. “I gave Iran 60 days, today is day 61. They should have made a deal.”
The President revealed that although he could not get Iran to do a nuclear deal, Israeli strikes give them a stronger incentive to come to the table.
“They were close, they should have done it. Maybe now it will happen.”
He also praised Israel’s strikes, which took out several Iranian military leaders, including the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Hossein Salami, and Army Chief Mohammad Bagheri, and the head of the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, Gholam Ali Rashid, among others.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed that the U.S. knew about the country’s plans to attack Israel. President Trump confirmed this to Reuters, saying, “We knew everything.”
The President has been vocal about Iran coming to the negotiating table and giving up the demand to develop a nuclear weapon.
“It’s very simple, not complicated. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
Amid this, an Israeli military spokesperson confirmed that Iran’s Isfahan nuclear facility had been hit.
A senior Israeli official has also confirmed that the country has planned out its operations against Iran for 14 days. PM Netanyahu also said the operation “Rising Lion” had just begun, and that it could last “as many days as it takes.
Amid the rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East due to the Israel-Iran conflict, crude oil prices surged by more than 8% on Friday.
U.S. equities bore the brunt, though, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling 1.9% and the S&P 500 falling 1.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 1.2% at the time of writing.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was down 1.26%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) fell 1.32%.
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