President Donald Trump stated Saturday that he’s not ready to make a deal to finish the conflict with Iran regardless of the nation’s willingness to accomplish that “because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” but declined to say what these phrases could be.
In a wide-ranging, practically 30-minute phone interview with NBC News, the president additionally stated he is working with different international locations on a plan to safe the Strait of Hormuz amid surges in international oil costs, and he dismissed Americans’ issues about rising gasoline costs because the U.S. and Israel launched their joint navy operation two weeks in the past.
The president additionally questioned whether or not Iran’s new supreme chief is “even alive.”
Trump stated he was “surprised” that Iran determined to assault different Middle Eastern international locations in response to the U.S.-Israeli operation, and that U.S. strikes on Kharg Island on Saturday “totally demolished” many of the island but that “we may hit it a few more times just for fun.”
He additionally slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he was “far more difficult to make a deal with” than Russian President Vladimir Putin over efforts to finish the conflict in Ukraine. Trump’s feedback observe criticism from international leaders after the U.S. eased sanctions on Russian oil in an effort to mitigate surging international oil costs.
Trump says he’s not ready to make a deal with Iran
On the telephone name, Trump stated he was unwilling to make a deal to finish the conflict with Iran at this stage.
“Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” he stated, including that any phrases could have to be “very solid.”
When requested what the phrases of a potential deal to finish the conflict could be, the president responded: “I don’t want to say that to you.” But he agreed that a dedication from Iran to fully abandon any nuclear ambitions could be a part of it.
Trump’s feedback come after Reuters reported that the Trump administration had brushed apart efforts to advance talks to finish the conflict.
He additionally previewed what the remainder of the U.S. navy operation in Iran might seem like. It started final month with Israeli and U.S. forces launching joint strikes on the nation and Iran responding by launching strikes on Israel and U.S. targets in close by international locations. Thirteen energetic U.S. service personnel have died because the battle started, together with six U.S. crew members who died Friday after their military refueling plane crashed in Iraq.
Trump administration officers have sent mixed messages within the final two weeks about what the U.S. navy targets are in Iran and the way lengthy the battle might final, with Trump at instances saying it could take a month or longer and at other times times saying “we are way ahead of the timetable” and there’s “practically nothing left to target.”
On Saturday, the president stated that “the only power they have, and it’s a power that can be closed off relatively quickly, is the power of dropping a mine or shooting a relatively short-range missile. But when we get finished with the shoreline, they’re not going to have that power either.”
He added later: “We’ve knocked out most of their missiles. We’ve knocked out most of their drones. We knocked out their manufacturing of missiles and drones, largely. Within two days, it’ll be totally decimated.”
Securing the Strait of Hormuz
Trump on Saturday stated he is asking “numerous countries that are affected by the thuggery of Iran” to assist safe the Strait of Hormuz — a key marine passageway for oil tankers — as international oil costs have surged amid the conflict.
Iran’s leaders, in the meantime, have vowed to keep the strait closed and have referred to as for even increased oil costs because the battle started.
The president stated a number of international locations have dedicated to serving to safe the strait, but declined to identify any of them.
“They’ve not only committed, but they think it’s a great idea,” he stated.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday morning, Trump wrote: “Many Countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe,” including: “Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area.”
On the telephone name, Trump stated it’s not clear whether or not Iran has dropped mines into the strait.
“We’re going to be sweeping the strait very strongly, and we believe we’ll be joined by other countries who are somewhat impeded, and in some cases impeded from getting the oil,” he added.
The president demurred when requested whether or not the U.S. Navy would begin escorting ships via the strait, saying, “I don’t want to tell you anything about that,” but including that “it’s possible.”
The president additionally confirmed that U.S. forces carried out strikes on Kharg Island, a strategic island off the coast of Iran that is residence to an oil terminal accountable for almost all of the nation’s oil exports.
U.S. Central Command stated Saturday morning it had performed “precision strikes” on 90 navy targets whereas “preserving the oil infrastructure,” but Trump stated later Saturday that “we totally demolished Kharg Island, but we may hit it a few more times just for fun.”
“We’ve totally decimated it,” the president added. “Except, as you know, I didn’t do anything having to do with the energy lines, because having to rebuild that would take years.”
Trump questions whether or not Iran’s new supreme chief is ‘even alive’
The president on Saturday questioned whether or not Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is alive after Khamenei did not seem on digital camera to situation his first assertion as Iran’s chief on Thursday.
In a written statement, Khamenei, the son of slain predecessor Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed to preserve blocking the Strait of Hormuz and attacking U.S. allies within the area.
“I don’t know if he’s even alive. So far, nobody’s been able to show him,” Trump stated on the telephone Saturday.
“I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender,” Trump added, but referred to as the information of his demise “a rumor.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday stated that the youthful Khamenei was “wounded and likely disfigured” and referred to as his written assertion a “weak one.”
“Iran has plenty of cameras and plenty of voice recorders. Why a written statement? I think you know why. His father: dead; he’s scared, he’s injured, he’s on the run, and he lacks legitimacy,” Hegseth added.
Khamenei was named the brand new supreme chief earlier this week after the preliminary U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran killed his father a week earlier.
Trump declined to say whether or not there was one specific Iranian chief whom he would really like to see take over as supreme chief, saying as a substitute, “We have people that are living that would be great leaders for the future of the country.”
Asked whether or not he’s in contact with any of the potential leaders, the president stated: “I don’t want to say that. I don’t want to put them in jeopardy.”
Trump ‘surprised’ that Iran focused different Middle Eastern international locations
The president stated Saturday that U.S. allies within the Middle East, together with the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, “have been terrific” and “they got shot at unnecessarily.”
“I was very surprised,” Trump stated about Iran concentrating on different Middle Eastern international locations, including it was “the biggest surprise I had of this whole thing.”
According to an NBC News analysis, Iran has been firing drones into Middle Eastern international locations together with these Trump talked about, plus Bahrain and Kuwait, and concentrating on oil infrastructure, logistics hubs and authorities facilities.
The U.S. does not launch information on the variety of drones it faces or intercepts, but information from the UAE says that 1,475 unmanned aerial automobiles had been fired on the nation as of March 10.
On Saturday morning, Iraqi officers stated an Iranian strike hit a helipad inside a U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad. Also on Saturday, within the wake of the U.S. strikes on Kharg Island, Iran threatened to destroy oil and gas infrastructure all through the area if the U.S. struck oil infrastructure on the island.
Trump ‘not concerned’ about rising gasoline costs
Trump, who in 2024 repeatedly attacked then-President Joe Biden over excessive gasoline costs, dismissed issues on Saturday about whether or not rising gasoline costs within the U.S. might damage Republicans within the upcoming midterm elections.
“I think they’ll go lower than they were before, and I had them at record lows,” Trump stated about gasoline costs, promising that they might drop quickly after the conflict in Iran ends.
On March 1, the day after the U.S. and Israel started attacking Iran, gasoline was averaging $2.94 a gallon within the U.S., per GasBuddy. On Saturday, the common value was $3.66.
“There’s so much oil, gas — there’s so much out there, but you know, it’s being clogged up a little bit. It’ll be unclogged very soon,” the president added.
Asked straight about whether or not gasoline costs might have an effect on the midterms, Trump stated, “I’m not concerned at all.
“The only thing I want to do is make sure that Iran can never be the bully of the Middle East again,” he added.
Trump says Russia is ‘perhaps’ sharing data with Iran
Asked about his choice to temporarily lift some sanctions on Russian oil amid surging international oil costs, the president stated: “I want to have oil for the world. I want to have oil,”
He added that the sanctions, which have been imposed when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, will “go back as soon as the crisis is over.”
On Saturday, when requested about criticism from some foreign leaders about lifting the sanctions, Trump didn’t straight reply but educated his ire on the Ukrainian president, saying over the telephone, “I’m surprised that Zelenskyy doesn’t want to make a deal. Tell Zelenskyy to make a deal because Putin’s willing to make a deal.”
“Zelenskyy is far more difficult to make a deal with,” the U.S. president added.
Zelenskyy earlier this month offered to help U.S. forces and their allies within the Middle East with intercepting Iranian drones, utilizing the Ukrainian navy’s expertise with taking pictures down Russian drones.
But on Saturday, Trump stated that “we don’t need help,” including that the “last person we need help from is Zelenskyy.”
The president declined to touch upon whether or not the U.S. has accepted Ukraine’s assist with drone interception expertise.
In a post on X on Friday, Zelenskyy wrote: “Countries in the Middle East have reached out to us, asking to share our expertise in intercepting Iranian ‘shahed’ drones during massive strikes. That is why we have already sent expert teams to three countries.”
Earlier Saturday, an Iranian politician stated Ukraine was a “legitimate and lawful target” for Iran as a result of Ukraine supplied assist defending in opposition to Iranian drones.
Asked to reply to stories that Russia is sharing intelligence with Iran about the location of U.S. forces, Trump stated, “Russia is perhaps giving information, perhaps they’re not.”
He added that the U.S. is “doing that against them,” as a result of “we’re giving a little information to Ukraine and we’re trying to make peace between the two nations.”
