Trump Says Renewed US Strikes on Iran ‘Highly Unlikely’ if Talks Progress

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that renewed US strikes on Iran are “highly unlikely” as long as negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear programme and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz make progress, telling CNN in a 20-minute phone interview that he repeated the point five times.

FAKTA

• What happened: Trump told CNN’s Jim Sciutto in a 20-minute phone interview on Sunday 8 November that he is “highly unlikely” to order the US back to war with Iran if talks progress.
• The condition: Iran signs “a very strong agreement” covering its nuclear programme and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
• US forces in the region: Trump said three US aircraft carriers are in the region and “fully locked and loaded”.
• Targets named: Trump said the US has identified infrastructure targets inside Iran, including power plants and 38 bridges that could be knocked down “in literally one hour” — but he said he would prefer not to destroy them.
• The talks: Qatar is mediating between Washington and Tehran. Trump called Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Friday to discuss de-escalation, and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with counterparts from nine regional countries on Thursday.
• Context: The war began eight months ago, and the two sides are in a stalemate, with little military action or significant diplomatic progress, while oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz have come under Iranian attack, CNN reported.

Renewed US strikes on Iran: what Trump said

“It depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement,” Trump told CNN, referring to Iran. “The answer is highly unlikely it’s going to be necessary.”

He added that he would order strikes again if necessary. “I would if necessary, but we hit them really hard. I hit them so hard. You don’t know how hard I hit them,” he said.

Trump made clear that US forces are in position in the region if he were to give the order to strike. “We’re ready for it. I’ve got three aircraft carriers here. The other one just arrived. We have three. They’re fully locked and loaded,” he said.

On the targets the US has identified, he said: “We have 38 bridges in our site that we can knock down in literally one hour. They’ll all be down.” He said he would prefer not to destroy Iranian infrastructure. “I don’t want to do that because essentially, it’ll take 10 years to rebuild them,” he said. “I don’t like ripping down bridges. And the hardest thing to build is a bridge. It takes years, and I’m a good builder.”

Reuters, reporting the interview, noted that CNN did not specify exactly what it had asked Trump.

Trump’s claims about Iran’s defences and economy

Trump also described Iran’s military position in his own terms, saying its air defences have been destroyed and that it retains 10% of its missile capacity and 15% of its drone capability. “It’s unstoppable because they have no anti-aircraft stuff. All of their anti-aircraft is gone,” he said.

He said Iran was struggling financially, citing 301% inflation this year and frozen assets held in foreign banks. “They’re withering away financially. We’ve hit them militarily. We could finish them off,” he said.

These figures are the president’s own statements, as reported by CNN. No US or independent assessment confirming them was published with the interview.

Where the talks stand

Diplomatic activity across the Middle East has increased since Tuesday’s midterm elections in the US. On Friday, Qatar said Trump had called the Qatari Emir to discuss de-escalation, and a day earlier Araghchi spoke with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Pakistan, Kuwait, Jordan, Turkey, Cyprus and Qatar.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday that Iran has sent a nuclear proposal to Washington through Qatar and that the United States is reviewing it. The official said further discussion depends on Washington first meeting seven Iranian demands, including relief from sanctions, access to frozen Iranian money in foreign banks, and war reparations.

On Saturday, Qatar denied reports that the talks had failed, saying both sides “continue to work towards reaching an agreement” and that Qatari mediators remain in close contact with both. Araghchi said Iran’s negotiators have not met their counterparts since the midterm elections, telling Iranian state media, according to AFP, that “it will take time before the atmosphere is favorable to resume the mediators’ trips”.

No text of an agreement, no date for a next round of talks, and no sign that the two sides are close on the core issues have been published.

What happens next

Attention now turns to whether the mediators can set a date for a new round of talks and whether the two sides can bridge the gap between Washington’s demand for a strong nuclear agreement and Tehran’s demands on sanctions, frozen funds and reparations. Market reports said hopes of progress in the talks were already sending oil prices lower. For more world news, see Watan News World.