US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) said his administration had already “settled eight wars” and was now pushing towards another outcome involving Iran, even as the region remains on edge.
In remarks at the NRCC Annual Fundraising Dinner, Trump suggested Iran was under pressure and keen to strike a deal, though hesitant to say so publicly. His comments come amid heightened military activity, sharp rhetoric from Tehran, and reports of troop movements by the United States.
“We settled 8 wars. We are winning another one. Nobody has seen anything like what we are doing in the Middle East with Iran. They are negotiating, by the way. They want to make a deal so badly, but they are afraid to say it because they figure they will be killed by their own people. They are also afraid they will be killed by us. There has never been a head of a country who wanted that job less than being the head of Iran.”
Trump said Iran’s leadership was in a difficult position, claiming they feared both internal backlash and external action. He also reiterated his long-standing criticism of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, arguing that Tehran could have developed nuclear weapons if the agreement had continued.
“I said we are going to have to do something about Iran because they are going to have a nuclear weapon very soon, and they are crazy. We have to stop them. And I say, well, we are going to take a big hit. We’re going to go through this certain route, and we will get right back here, but we have to go and stop them. Every President should have done it. Obama should have done it. Obama gave them the absolute right title and interest, gave everything to Iran. When Bibi Netanyahu came over and begged him not to do it. He gave Iran the right to have a nuclear weapon at the highest level within a very short period of time. I terminated that agreement as soon as I came to office,” Trump said while pointing out that if they had continued JCPOA, then Iran would have had a nuclear weapon by now.
Trump also justified military action against Iran, describing its nuclear ambitions as a threat that needed to be eliminated.
“We had no choice,” he said, adding that Iran with nuclear weapons was like a “cancer” that had to be “cut out”. He claimed the US had already neutralised that threat and would now “finish it off”.
“When I went on to do something that for 47 years should have been done by any of the other Presidents, and you heard numerous of them said they wished they did it, but they didn’t have the guts to do it. We had no choice, but I thought it would be much worse,” he said.
“In the short term, what we had to do was get rid of the cancer. We had to cut out the cancer. The cancer was Iran with a nuclear weapon. We have cut it out. Now we are going to finish it off.”
Military claims, threats and counter-claims deepen crisis
Trump defended past US actions, including the 2020 killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, calling it a significant moment during his first term. Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad on January 3, 2020.
“We did many things. Taking out Soleimani was very important. He was an evil man. But that was a big event we took out in my first term. We took out Soleimani, and they never had leadership that could compete with that. He was an evil guy, but he was a real leader, and he was a very tough general. Under our leadership, America is also highly respected again. Perhaps we are now respected like never before. I don’t think we have ever been as respected now,” he said.
He also described recent military developments, claiming that US defence systems intercepted a large Iranian missile attack. According to Trump, 100 missiles were fired towards a key US asset but were all shot down using the Patriot system.
“100 missiles going 2,000 miles an hour were coming at this element of importance, tremendous power and importance. And of the 100 missiles coming at us, 100 missiles were immediately shot down, shot out of the air, and fell into the sea. Not one missile got through,” Trump said.
He gave credit to the Patriot missile defence system. “That was the Patriot system, it’s great. We have the best equipment in the world, we have the best military, the most powerful, most lethal military,” he said.
At the same time, Iranian leaders struck a defiant tone. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that any attempt by rival countries to seize Iranian territory would be met with sustained attacks on critical infrastructure.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US had failed to achieve its objectives, including a quick military victory or regime change. He ruled out ongoing negotiations, saying Iran would continue its “resistance” policy in response to what he called American and Israeli aggression.
Meanwhile, reports cited by Iranian state media suggested that US bases in the region had come under attack, including facilities in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, with claims of casualties and damage to infrastructure.
The Pentagon has also moved to reinforce its presence, ordering around 2,000 additional troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East. Two Marine groups are already heading to the region from opposite sides of the Pacific.