US President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social platform that it is “too late” for negotiations with Iran. He added, “Their air defense, air force, navy and leadership are gone.” The statement comes amid ongoing military strikes by the United States and Israel against targets in Iran over the weekend.
Trump on Monday justified attacks on Iran, asserting that Tehran was aggressively advancing its ballistic missile program, which posed a threat to the United States. Trump stated that Iran was using its missile program to conceal its nuclear weapons development efforts. He added that an Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would have posed a significant threat to both the Middle East and the United States.
“The (Iranian) regime's conventional ballistic missile program was growing rapidly and dramatically, and this posed a very clear, colossal threat to America and our forces stationed overseas. The regime already had missiles capable of hitting Europe and our bases, both local and overseas, and would soon have had missiles capable of reaching our beautiful America. The purpose of this fast-growing missile program was to shield their nuclear weapon development and make it extraordinarily difficult for anyone to stop them from making these highly forbidden nuclear weapons... An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat to the Middle East, but also to the American people,” he said.
Will never let Iran develop nukes, says Trump
Trump said the US was under threat and he would never let Iran develop nuclear weapons.
“Our country itself would be under threat, and it was very nearly under threat. I was very proud to have knocked out the Iran nuclear deal by President Obama... They would have had nuclear weapons three years ago, and they would have used them. But I'll not let that happen," he said.
Escalation across the region
On Saturday, missiles and attack drones struck multiple targets in Tehran, including the compound of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was later confirmed killed. Iran retaliated with strikes on Tel Aviv, other Israeli cities, and US military bases and embassies across West Asia. Civilian and energy facilities were also hit, including an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia and a luxury hotel in Dubai.
