Adnkronos (Adnkronos) –
Donald Trump dismisses the possibility of new attacks against Iran. The US president is focusing on dialogue and is confident of an agreement with Tehran on two key issues: the Islamic Republic's nuclear program and the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. In this context, Trump says, new strikes are "highly unlikely."
Ultimately, the US president emphasized to CNN, "it depends on whether they sign a very stringent agreement. Is a new attack necessary? The answer is that it's highly unlikely that there will be a need for one," the White House chief used, reiterating a familiar repertoire to describe Iran. "It's a nation in decline.
This year they've had 301% inflation. We hit them hard, really hard. You have no idea how hard we hit them,” Trump adds. “So it's highly unlikely we'll have to do this,” Trump emphasizes, referring to a new attack. “They're collapsing financially. We hit them militarily. We could finish them off,” he reiterates.
Trump has made conflicting statements in the past about his willingness to end the war.
Now, after the Republicans' resounding defeat in the midterm elections, he clarifies that the U.S. military is already deployed in the region and ready to intervene if ordered to attack. The Democratic-majority Congress takes office in January, and the president has a few weeks of "free reign" before having to confront the Democratic-controlled House and Senate.
“We're ready. I have three aircraft carriers here. The last one just arrived. We have three of them, all fully operational and combat ready,” Trump says. Central Command has identified infrastructure targets inside Iran to target in the event of a resumption of military operations: power plants and bridges are on the list. “We have 38 bridges in our sights, we can literally take them down in an hour. They'll all be destroyed,” the threat is followed, in true Trump style, by a rebuff. “I don't want to do it because, essentially, it would take ten years to rebuild. I don't like taking down bridges. They're among the most difficult structures to build: they take years. And I'm a good builder.”
Tehran hasn't made any public statements oriented toward dialogue: Iran is ready to absorb further blows. Trump, however, doesn't believe this is the case. "They no longer have anti-aircraft systems. All their anti-aircraft defense systems have been eliminated," Trump says, specifying that the Iranian regime still has only 10% of its missile capacity and 15% of its drone capacity. "The only thing they're still able to do is operate at about a 10% level: produce some missiles and some drones. As for drones, we're at around 15%, because most of their factories have been destroyed. They're desperate to reach a deal."
In a now consolidated dynamic, a different tone is coming from Tehran. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi points out that the mediators engaged in efforts to reach a peace agreement have not undertaken any diplomatic missions since the "shock" caused by the results of the US midterm elections. "It will take time before favorable conditions are created for the mediators to resume their travels," says the foreign minister.
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