Iran sought talks after US strikes: Trump

Washington: US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran had requested direct talks with Washington after sustained US military action, expressing confidence that a deal remained possible while warning that military operations could quickly resume if diplomacy failed.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Michigan, Trump defended the US campaign against Iran, saying it had fundamentally altered Tehran’s position.

“We’ve pretty much destroyed their military. They want to meet, and we’re meeting. We’ll see what happens. There’s a chance we could make a deal,” Trump said. “Without what we did, they wouldn’t even be talking to us.”

The President said Iran had sought the meeting “through their surrogates and directly”, adding that the request reflected the effectiveness of the US military campaign.

“They would not have requested the meeting if we were doing poorly. The only reason they wanna meet is that we’ve been hitting them very hard,” he said.

Trump said he remained patient despite the continuing tensions.

“I have plenty of time. Plenty of time,” he said, adding that Iran’s “whole shoreline’s wiped out” and that discussions were continuing because Iranian officials had urged Washington not to launch further attacks while negotiations were under way.

“I think there’s a good chance that something could happen. And if it does, good. If it doesn’t, we go back to doing what we were doing two days ago,” he said.

Asked about Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s advice during the conflict, Trump dismissed suggestions of disagreements within his administration.

“No, I think he’s done a great job,” the President said.

On military readiness, Trump rejected concerns that US weapons stockpiles had been depleted by support for Ukraine.

“We have money. We have a lot of ammunition,” he said, while acknowledging that the previous administration had transferred substantial quantities of military equipment to Kyiv.

“We’re building it very rapidly. Plants are being built. A lot of equipment’s being built. The Patriots in particular are being built,” Trump said. “Every one of our contractors is building four to five plants right now.”

He added that the United States remained well supplied but would like even larger inventories of advanced weapons.

“But, for some of the more sophisticated stuff, we’d certainly like to have more,” he said.

Trump also addressed reports that Russia may have provided Iran with satellite imagery of US military bases in the Gulf.

“We’ll find out if that’s true. I’ll ask Putin about it. We’ll find out,” he said, while arguing that any such assistance had little practical effect because Iran’s military capabilities had already been severely degraded.

“If they are, it hasn’t worked out because they have no Army, they have no Air Force. They have no Navy,” Trump said. “If they have, it has been very unimpactful.”

Asked whether Saudi Arabia had indicated any willingness to join the Abraham Accords, Trump said the issue had not been discussed.

“We haven’t talked about that,” he said.

The President also confirmed he was scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, describing their positions on Iran as largely aligned.

“We have a little difference, but pretty close,” Trump said. “Iran took a beating over the last 14 days. They asked us very nicely, ‘Please stop. Let’s meet.’ That’s where we are right now.”

–IANS