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US President Donald Trump has indicated that the ongoing military conflict with Iran could come to an end quickly, whilereiterating that Washington would not allow Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons, saying, "We can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon, because they'd use it."
Speaking to C-SPAN, Trump said the duration of the conflict would depend on developments and the progress of diplomatic discussions, adding that the United States could achieve its military objectives within a short period. "It depends. I mean, we could knock it out fast, or we could knock it out over a shortnot a long period of time," Trump said while responding to a question about how long the Iran war would continue. Referring to the US military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities using B-2 bombers, Trump claimed that Washington had already significantly damaged Tehran's nuclear infrastructure but remained concerned that Iran could rebuild its capabilities. "I said I was going to knock out their nuclear quickly and I did. I knocked it out with the B-2 bombers over a year ago. And I could have quit then, but we were concerned that they'd just build it back. They'd figure it out and they'd build it back over a couple of years," he said. Trump further claimed that large quantities of rock were currently covering nuclear material at three Iranian sites, adding that the United States was closely monitoring developments around Pickaxe Mountain. Reiterating his administration's position on Iran's nuclear ambitions, he said, "But the bottom line is we can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon, because they'd use it." The US President also credited his earlier decisions, including withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement and ordering the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, with contributing to what he described as the current military success. Explaining why Washington was pursuing diplomatic options instead of immediately launching another round of military strikes, Trump said he had held discussions with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait. He said the Gulf countries, which had also faced Iranian attacks, preferred maintaining the existing blockade rather than another military operation that could be approximately five times larger than the initial strikes. Trump added that he also favoured a diplomatic resolution, expressing confidence that Tehran was interested in reaching an agreement. Earlier on Monday, following a meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Trump announced that Gulf allies supported continuing the naval blockade and the newly announced Operation Iron Gate. In a post on Truth Social, Trump declared that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons was "non-negotiable", while maintaining that Washington remained prepared to resume military action if regional developments required it. He also claimed that Iran's manufacturing capability had been reduced by approximately 85 per cent and said Tehran was communicating with Washington. "There is a good chance that that could get ended," Trump said, expressing optimism about the possibility of concluding the military engagement. (ANI)
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