The US president insists Washington has already decimated Tehran in a âvery conventional wayâ
Donald Trump has lashed out at a reporter who asked whether his threats to destroy Iranian power plants, bridges, and the entire civilization meant he was ready to use a nuclear weapon, dismissing the question as âstupid.â
The exchange took place at the White House on Thursday, where a journalist recalled Trumpâs April 7Â warning that âa whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back againâ if Tehran did not accept his terms, a remark widely condemned as apocalyptic and potentially genocidal.
âWhy would a stupid question like that be asked? Why would I use a nuclear weapon when weâve totally, in a very conventional way, decimated them without it? No, I wouldnât use it,â Trump said, adding that a ânuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody.â
.@POTUS to Jim Acosta’s girlfriend (@ElizLanders) when she asks one of the dumbest questions ever â if he’d use a nuclear weapon on Iran:
“Why would a stupid question like that be asked?… No, I wouldn’t use it. A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody.” pic.twitter.com/U235920fwD
The US president used the occasion to once again boast about the scale of US military damage inflicted on Iran, while suggesting that any rearmament by Tehran during the ceasefire could be knocked out in âabout one dayâ if necessary. He also said he could make a deal immediately, but wanted one that was âeverlasting.â
âI want to make the best deal. I could make a deal right now… but I donât want to do that. I want to have it everlasting,â Trump said.
Washington indefinitely extended the ceasefire earlier this week, expecting a âunifiedâ proposal from Tehran, while keeping the US blockade of Iranian ports in place, even as follow-up talks with Tehran stalled and tensions persisted around the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has made clear there is no firm timeline for ending the war, telling Fox News on Wednesday that there was âno time frame,â and urging critics not to ârushâ him again on Thursday.
The Iranian military, meanwhile, said it was prepared to fight the US âuntil complete victory.â Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused the US of trying to turn negotiations into âa table of surrender,â adding that talks and a âcomplete ceasefireâ would only make sense if they were not violated by the maritime blockade.
âThey did not achieve their goals through military aggression, nor will they through bullying. The only way forward is to recognize the rights of the Iranian nation,â Ghalibaf wrote on X on Thursday.
