Trump says Gulf states and Israel favor a slower approach to Iran, but warns he could destroy its energy, bridges and manufacturing infrastructure in three days.
US President Donald Trump said he could destroy Iran’s energy infrastructure, bridges and manufacturing capabilities within three days, but has refrained from doing so at the request of Middle Eastern countries that prefer a more gradual approach to weakening the Iranian regime.
Speaking in an interview with Stephen A. Smith, Trump defended his decision to continue the military campaign against Iran despite criticism that the war contributed to Republican losses in last week’s midterm elections.
“Well, the war was just something I had to do regardless. Wars are always very difficult when you have elections, but I had to do it. That should have been done long before me by other presidents,” Trump said.
He accused Iran of decades of violence against Americans and of killing tens of thousands of protesters in recent months.
“It’s an evil empire and we’ve knocked the hell out of them and they won’t have a nuclear weapon. We’ve taken that away and we’ll make sure we take it away. That’s why I’m there,” the President declared.
Asked why the conflict was continuing if the United States possessed the military capability to defeat Iran decisively, Trump said several American allies in the Middle East had urged him not to escalate the campaign further.
“I could end it immediately, but at the request of the nations that I’m looking to protect, we are doing it a little bit longer way, a little bit more civilly. Saudi Arabia has asked me to please just let it be the way it is now for a while because they’re disintegrating,” he explained.
“Qatar, if you look at that, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, all of them would much prefer the waiting period. We put a very big financial hurt on them and they have 300 percent – more than that – of inflation. They have no money. They haven’t paid their guard. They haven’t paid their soldiers. They haven’t paid their police.”
Trump described Iran as a country experiencing severe economic and military difficulties, claiming that American operations had eliminated much of its ability to wage war.
“It’s a nation that’s in serious trouble. So they’ve asked me to do that. And I’m doing that. I’m not sure I agree with it, but we’ve taken them largely out. As you know, the Navy is gone. Their Air Force is gone. Their anti-aircraft is gone. Everything is gone. Frankly, their leaders are gone for the most part,” he said.
When Smith pressed him on whether the wishes of regional allies were the reason the United States remained engaged in the conflict, Trump explicitly included Israel among the countries whose security considerations were influencing his decisions.
“Yeah, that’s just because the people that we’re looking to protect, and that includes Israel, the people that we’re looking to protect, which is basically the Middle East. And we’ve had great relationships with them. They’re tremendous investors in our country. They spend trillions of dollars in our country. The people that we’re here to protect would rather have me do it the way I’m doing it now,” Trump stated.
Smith subsequently questioned whether Trump’s personal feelings toward Iran, including the Iranian regime’s alleged attempts to assassinate him, were contributing to his decision to continue the war.
Trump acknowledged that hostility toward those who had threatened him was a natural human reaction.
“Well, it’s a human reflex. I mean, I feel that way. I know you would feel that way, too,” he replied.
“I hate my opponents. It’s not a question of opponents. I hate certain people. I don’t hate all my opponents. I respect a lot of my opponents. But there are some that I think were way across the line, and I have a certain hatred for them. So do many people.”
Smith pointed to a billboard in Tehran threatening Trump’s life and asking whether his personal hostility toward the regime explained the continuation of the military campaign.
“They’re an evil enemy. They’ve killed many Americans. They’ve killed many American soldiers, sailors, as you know. But other than that, they’ve killed 75,000 protesters recently, and it’s much more than that. They’re a very evil group of people,” Trump responded.
“And I certainly, I don’t hate the people of Iran, but I think their leadership has been a horrible, horrible thing. It truly is the number one state sponsor of terror in the world. Everybody said that. That’s not a phrase used by me. It’s a phrase given by many people that know what’s happening, including the United Nations.”
Trump emphasized that his criticism was directed at Iran’s leadership rather than the Iranian population.
“When I say hate, I certainly don’t love them. They’ve killed a lot of American soldiers,” he said.
When Smith suggested that Trump’s claims about having largely disarmed Iran were based on his own assessment, the President pushed back.
“No, no, no. It’s not what I say. It’s what happened. Okay. Okay. I mean, you just take a look. You sound like the New York Times. They try and justify everything,” Trump responded.
He continued by accusing Iran’s leadership of threatening Israel, the United States and other Middle Eastern countries, including states that had not previously been its enemies.
“Look, they are a very bad group of people, the leadership I’m talking about. They’re violent. They hate us. They say death to America constantly. They say death to Israel. They say death, in many cases, to the Middle East. Look, they attacked five countries that weren’t even their enemies, and they attacked them, which was the biggest surprise of that war, because they went after Saudi Arabia, they went after UAE, and they went after Qatar.”
Smith then asked directly whether Trump would have already taken more decisive military action against Iran if other Middle Eastern countries had not urged him to exercise restraint.
“Yes, I would. I would have, yeah,” Trump answered.
Asked what such an escalation would involve, Trump outlined the Iranian infrastructure that American forces had deliberately avoided targeting and warned that it could be destroyed rapidly.
“Going further than I went. We’ve gone very far. We’ve attacked them pretty far. But we, for the most part, left their bridges alone. We took out one big bridge, because they behave very badly. And we’ve let their electric manufacturing capability survive,” he explained.
“And we haven’t attacked their energy at all. We haven’t attacked their energy. If I want to take them out, I hit there. In one day, their energy is gone. In one day, their bridges are gone. And in one day, their manufacturing capability is gone. It would only take me three days, one day each,” Trump concluded.
