U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that as tensions in the Middle East continue, Washington faces a clear choice in dealing with Iran, either seeking a negotiated solution or escalating military action.“There are options. Do we want to just blast them out and end them for good? Or do we want to try to make a deal. That’s the choice,” Trump told reporters during a U.S. Central Command briefing.While acknowledging the military line, he added, “From a human perspective, I would rather not do that.”
Doubts about deal, questions about Iran’s leadership
Trump expressed dissatisfaction with Tehran’s latest proposal to end the conflict. “They want a deal but I’m not happy with it, so we’ll see what happens,” he said, adding, “They’ve made progress but I’m not sure they can achieve it”.He also pointed to divisions within Iran, saying “the leadership is very disjointed…two or three groups, maybe four…they all wanted to make a deal and they all blew it.”
Questioning the war effort is ‘treason’
In a separate speech, Trump criticized domestic opponents who questioned the war’s progress, calling such claims “treasonous.” “We have the radical left saying, ‘We didn’t win’ … which is actually … an act of treason,” he said.He claimed Iran’s military has been severely weakened, claiming “they have no navy…no air force…no radar…their leaders are gone”, although he provided no evidence.Trump also defended the U.S. strike against Iran’s nuclear program, saying “we stopped them with B2 bombers… If we didn’t do that, they would have nuclear weapons” and warned that Israel, the Middle East and Europe could be at risk.Responding to news agency ANI, Trump acknowledged Pakistan’s opening of overland transit routes for trade with Iran and expressed support for its leadership. The move comes as thousands of containers remain stranded due to U.S. restrictions on Iranian ports.Despite the ongoing diplomatic efforts, Trump stressed that the United States would not withdraw from the conflict prematurely, “We will not withdraw early, and we will not have this problem three years later.”
