US President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran is “totally defenceless” and has reached out for negotiations amid heightened tensions in the Middle East.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, the US president made a series of assertions regarding Iran’s military capabilities and its alleged overtures towards Washington. Without offering any evidence, Trump said, “Iran has no air defence whatsoever. They are totally defenceless.”
He added that Iranian officials had made contact suggesting a visit to the White House. “They want to negotiate,” Trump said, adding that Tehran should have initiated talks earlier. “Why didn’t you negotiate with me before – all this death and destruction?” he said, addressing Iranian leadership.
The US president’s comments come amid growing speculation about a potential American strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. When asked directly whether such an operation was imminent, Trump remained non-committal: “I may do it, I may not do it. Nobody knows what I’m going to do.”
Labeling the conflict as “so stupid,” Trump reiterated his demand for an “unconditional surrender” from Iran, stating that such a move would be followed by American forces targeting and destroying nuclear infrastructure across the country.
“For 40 years, they’ve been saying ‘death to America, death to Israel’ – they were schoolyard bullies,” Trump said. “And now they’re not bullies anymore. But we’ll see what happens.”
Despite his aggressive tone, the president acknowledged that the situation remained unresolved. “I wouldn’t say that we won anything yet, but we’ve made a lot of progress,” he remarked, hinting that developments in the next week could be decisive.
Iran's Khamenei rejects Trump's call for unconditional surrender
Earlier, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement read by a television presenter on Wednesday that his country will not accept US President Donald Trump's call for an unconditional surrender.
In his first remarks since Friday, when he delivered a speech broadcast on state media after Israel began bombarding Iran, Khamenei said peace or war could not be imposed on the Islamic Republic.
"Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian nation, and its history will never speak to this nation in threatening language because the Iranian nation will not surrender," he said.
"The Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage."
Thousands of people were fleeing Tehran on Wednesday after Israeli warplanes bombed the city overnight, and a source said Trump was considering options that include joining Israel in attacking Iranian nuclear sites.
Israel's military said 50 Israeli jets had struck around 20 targets in Tehran overnight, including sites producing raw materials, components and manufacturing systems for missiles.
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