In statements from the Oval Office on Monday, after covering several current domestic issues, the US president turned to war, reiterating that Iran was on the verge of doing something that would destabilize the wider region and even the entire world.
He initially said he wants wars "less than almost anyone else," but then added that Iran's plans were terrifying.
"If you think Iran should have a nuclear weapon, then there's something wrong with you, because they're going to use it. The only question is whether they're going to use it within an hour of getting it or within a day. They're going to blow up the entire Middle East, not just Israel," he said.
He went on to say that "all these missiles that were fired at their neighbors were deployed a long time ago. If we hadn't done this, we would have had a nuclear war that would have escalated into World War III."
No expert would have predicted that Iran would strike neighboring countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, Trump said.
Regarding the Iranian leadership and Mojtaba Khamenei, he once again said he did not know if he was alive. “My biggest problem,” he added, “is that I have no idea who we are talking to, because no one has ever heard of any of these people. They are all dead.”
He also hinted at US allies who should help in the Strait of Hormuz, but aims to find out who is willing and who is not.
"What surprises me is that they are no longer willing to do this. There are some countries that have shown great support. I will announce some names soon. Some countries have behaved very well. One or two have behaved exceptionally," he said.
Regarding the B-2 “stealth” bomber, which he had in a miniature model on his desk, he said that “it looks small, but up close it is very large. It is the only plane capable of carrying a 200,000-pound bomb.” One of his usual exaggerations, because neither such large bombs exist nor can the B-2 carry 90-ton bombs.
Recently, he was asked if the war could end this week, but he was not at all clear: “Yes, definitely. I don’t think so, but it will happen soon. It won’t take long. And we will have a much safer world when it’s over.”
In addition, he said at another point that the whole Iran issue “is a big game of chess at a very high level. It’s a top-level showdown and I’m dealing with very smart players. They’re smart people. Otherwise they wouldn’t have gotten this far. When you deal with some of these people, you know who you’re dealing with. High-level intelligence.”
