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US President Donald Trump on Friday said the United States has dealt a major blow to Iran in the ongoing conflict, claiming Iranian naval forces had been largely destroyed.
Speaking during the Commander in Chief Trophy presentation in Washington at White House, Trump said the US military had many Iranian ships in recent operations. "I want to begin by just saying we're doing extremely well in Iran," Trump said. "The difference between them and us is they had a navy two weeks ago, they have no navy anymore. It's all at the bottom of the sea. Fifty-eight ships knocked down in two days," he added. Trump praised the strength of the US Navy. "We have the greatest navy anywhere in the world, and it's not even close," he said. The President also reiterated his stance that the US is "not going to let Iran have nuclear weapons". "We're not going to let them have nuclear weapons because if they had them, they'd use them, and we're not going to let that happen," Trump said. He added that previous US Presidents should have addressed the issue earlier. "Should have been done a long time ago by other Presidents," Trump said. Earlier on Thursday, President Trump said that he does not intend to deploy American troops in the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict with Iran, while emphasising the strength of the US military and the broader objectives of current operations. Responding to a question from a reporter on potential troop deployment, Trump said, "No, I'm not putting troops anywhere. If I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you." He made his remarks during a question-and-answer session with reporters alongside visiting Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House. The US President also linked the ongoing developments to broader strategic considerations, stating that the military actions are aimed at ensuring long-term global security. "We're doing this excursion, and when it's completed, we're going to have a much safer world," he said, describing Iran as a significant threat to global and regional stability. "Iran is a serious threat to the world, to the Middle East and to everybody, and everybody agrees with me. I think virtually every country agrees with me on that," Trump added. Highlighting US military capabilities, Trump said the country possesses the "strongest military in the world" with advanced equipment, citing a recent instance where 114 rockets were intercepted using US systems. "We have the strongest military in the world. We have the best equipment. We make by far the best equipment. The other night, they had 114 rockets shot at a certain location. Out of 114 sophisticated rockets, every single one of them was shot down with our equipment, all our equipment. It's amazing, actually, how good it is. We want to be sure, and it's a small price to pay to make sure that we stay tip-top," the US President added. (ANI)
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