U.S. President Donald Trump sought on Wednesday evening to slightly lower tensions with Iran, hours after saying he considered the ceasefire with Tehran to be “over” and threatening additional strikes. At a news conference following the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump said he “doesn’t think" the war with Iran "is going start again,” but warned: “Anything that happens is going to be over very quickly, and we'll only make it safer — including for oil.”
Trump’s remarks came after a day of conflicting messages from the U.S. president. Just hours earlier, he called Iran’s leadership “scum” and “sick people,” said that in his view the memorandum of understanding intended to end the war was “over,” and later warned that the U.S. would “probably hit Iran again tonight” and “hit them hard.”
'We can play games. But I'm not sure I want to make a deal'
At the concluding news conference, Trump returned to the possibility of an agreement with Tehran but expressed significant doubts about whether it would be worthwhile.
“I don't want to deal with them anymore; they're scum,” he said. “We can play games. But I'm not sure I want to make a deal. Let's just finish the job.”
He said his main goal remained preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. “I have to make sure of one thing: that we don't have lunatics having control over nuclear weapons,” he said.
Trump also warned that the U.S. continues to closely monitor Iran’s nuclear sites. According to him, “we have cameras in space on it” tracking developments on the ground, and “if anybody goes there, they'll get blown up.”
He claimed that if Iran obtained nuclear weapons, Israel would face an existential threat. “We're going to de-nuke it. We're not going to let them, because they're crazy, and they can't have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
US would 'probably hit Iran again tonight' and 'hit them hard.'
The U.S. president continued to portray the campaign against Iran as a major success. He said Iran’s navy “is on the bottom of the ocean,” the Islamic Republic’s air force has been destroyed, its leadership has been eliminated and much of its missile and launcher capabilities have been damaged.
Earlier, Trump said the U.S. goal was to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and that this could happen even without an agreement with Tehran.
When asked why the war with Iran had seemingly reached a dead end, Trump insisted the war with Iran has been a "tremendous military success" and says it has prevented Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
He claimed Iran is now in a difficult position and noted that contacts with Tehran are being handled by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
(Photo: AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
(Photo: REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov)
Trump also addressed Iranian threats to assassinate him. “I may be gone too, because I’m their No. 1 target,” he said, joking: “No. 1 on TikTok is better.”
Earlier Wednesday, Trump again said he had been at the top of Tehran’s “hit list” for years and presented this as one of the reasons for his deep hostility toward Iran’s leadership.
At the end of his remarks, Trump was asked what he expected from U.S. European allies if fighting resumed.
He claimed the Strait of Hormuz was open and that oil was flowing through it, reiterating: “We're not looking for the long term.”
The statements came after the latest exchange of blows between the U.S. and Iran. The U.S. military struck more than 80 targets in Iran overnight, including air defense systems, radar sites, command and control networks and more than 60 vessels belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The latest exchange of blows between the US and Iran
Iran responded with attacks on targets in Bahrain and Kuwait, claiming it had struck “85 military targets” belonging to the U.S. Later, the Iranian military said eight Iranian soldiers were killed in the American strikes.
he US military struck more than 80 targets in Iran overnight
(Video: CENTCOM)
The escalation began after Iran attacked three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, claiming they had traveled through a route it did not approve of. The U.S. viewed this as a violation of the memorandum of understanding and responded with extensive strikes, while Tehran continues to insist on recognition of its authority over managing traffic through the strait.
High alert in Israel
Israel remains on high alert and is preparing for the possibility that fighting could quickly resume, but the assessment is that the confrontation will not escalate into a full-scale war.
Amid the developments, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz canceled their participation Wednesday evening in a military ceremony in favor of a security briefing.
Israeli officials have long assessed that the Americans would be unable to reach a permanent agreement with Iran and that their strategy was to buy time until the U.S. midterm elections in order to keep oil prices low and avoid affecting the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled his participation Wednesday evening in a military ceremony
(Photo: ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP)
“Anyone who said Trump had turned his back on us was wrong. The talk about a defeat was premature,” a senior Israeli official said.
In Israel, officials say what is driving Trump now is economic pressure on Iran. They argue that through his move he removed all economic pressure from himself and the U.S. while perhaps easing about 20% of the economic pressure on Iran.
“Economic pressure on Iran increased significantly during the months of ‘Roaring Lion,’” the official said.
“The assessment was that this would not cause Trump to blink, neither on nuclear issues nor on other issues. At the moment, it appears Trump is standing firm on his demands. Right now both sides are insisting on their positions and that is a good sign. The most dangerous thing for us is a bad agreement, and the best thing is for the situation to remain as it is. Whether fighting resumes after the midterm elections or not is still an open question. I do not want to play the prophet, but that is not the most important point. The important point right now is the economic pressure.”