Donald Trump on the negotiations with Iran: “I am the opposite of desperate”

At the beginning of his remarks, Trump stated that the campaign is progressing at a faster pace than expected and that the results on the ground speak for themselves. “We estimated it would take four to six weeks to accomplish our mission, and 26 days in, we’re ahead of schedule,” the US president said. According to him, the American forces severely damaged Tehran’s military infrastructure. “During the last three weeks, we have damaged Iran’s military capabilities. We are smashing their missile and UAV stockpiles and destroying their industrial-defense base. We completely wiped out their navy, we completely wiped out their air force.”

The president detailed the extent of the damage to the Iranian navy, noting that 154 ships were sunk during the operation, including 22 ships that were used to scatter naval mines. “They lie very nicely at the bottom of the sea. We did it in less than a week,” said Trump. Referring to the Islamic Republic’s missile array, he added that the US destroyed close to 90 percent of Iran’s missile launchers, emphasizing that “without the launchers, the missiles are of no use.”

The president noted that the widespread destruction changed the strategic dynamic and led Iran to seek a political solution: “They are begging to make a deal. Anyone who sees what is happening there understands why.” Trump even claimed that had it not been for the preliminary American action that included the use of B-2 stealth bombers, Iran would have possessed nuclear weapons within two to four weeks, and would have used them against Israel and other countries in the Middle East such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. As for the negotiations, Trump wanted to point out that he is “the opposite of desperate.”

Beyond the security review, Trump used the meeting to criticize his predecessors in office and foreign countries. He accused former President Barack Obama of being responsible for Iran’s strengthening, and claimed that Iran used the funds transferred to it as part of the nuclear agreement to build its military infrastructure. At the same time, the president attacked the NATO alliance and Britain, claiming that they stood by when the conflict broke out. “We are very disappointed in NATO, because they did nothing,” stated Trump. “I already said 25 years ago that NATO is a paper tiger. We will come to their aid, but they will never come to our aid.”