'Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon': Trump reiterates

Washington DC: US President Donald Trump reiterated his stance that Iran "cannot have a nuclear weapon", asserting that Tehran would use such a weapon against Israel and could pose a wider threat to the Middle East, Europe and the United States.Speaking to Fox News on "Sunday Night in America", Trump said, "Iran is a number one leading state sponsor of terror. You've heard that many times, in the whole world. They cannot have a nuclear weapon." "I have numerous people say, 'Well, did you have to do it?' And then I say, 'Do you think it's okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon?' A nuclear weapon is massive destruction, you know, take what you see and multiply times a hundred," Trump said.Trump said he had asked people who questioned US action against Iran whether they believed it was acceptable for Tehran to possess a nuclear weapon."And everybody says no. I've had people on the other side asking me, or debating me, let's say, on that question. Most people are absolutely fine with it," he said.Trump claimed that US measures against Iran were having a major impact, saying, "But we're doing a great job. The blockade has been unbelievable. The financial hits that we're giving them, we're hitting them very hard. Nobody's ever been hit like this.""And they're a failing nation right now. And at the right point, we'll either win, or they'll do something, but, you know, I don't mind winning, just winning that I don't need a signature on a piece of paper," he added.Trump also claimed that Iran's military capabilities and leadership had been severely damaged."Their navy is gone, their air force is gone, their leaders are gone, their, uh, all of their anti-aircraft, I mean, it's all wiped out," he said.Calling Iranians "tough people" and "smart people", Trump added, "they're very evil."Trump further alleged that Iranian forces had killed tens of thousands of protesters and claimed that people who were not protesting were also being targeted. "They killed 52,000 protesters as of three months ago, and sadly they've added very substantially to that list," Trump said.He warned that Iran possessing a nuclear weapon could have devastating consequences for Israel and the wider region. "And if they had a nuclear weapon, Israel would be gone. If I weren't president, Israel would be gone. There would be no Israel. And there would probably be no Middle East," Trump said.Trump also said Iran had targeted or threatened several Gulf countries after the fighting began, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait. "I thought it was a very good thing because they lost all of the support that they had," he said, adding that countries that had previously remained largely neutral toward Iran were no longer doing so."That means that if they would have had a nuclear weapon, they would have fired it. So I think the Middle East would have essentially been gone, but Israel definitely would have been gone. And I guess we would be next, or Europe, or someplace," Trump said."But no, you cannot let them have a nuclear weapon," he added.His interview came as the US military launched strikes on Iran's Larak Island on Sunday, targeting two Iranian missile launchers, CNN reported, citing an American official.The strikes hit a highly strategic location near the northern edge of the Strait of Hormuz, the global shipping chokepoint currently at the centre of escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.Following the strike, the IRGC Public Relations Department issued a statement warning of direct "vengeance upon criminals" and promising the "punishment of the aggressor."IRGC spokesman and public relations chief Hossein Mohebbi condemned the military action as a "grave blunder" occurring alongside newly imposed US economic measures."This action was a strategic and fatal error by the Trump regime in the course of the economic war, an error that will shift the balance against its planners and will entail heavy costs," Mohebbi said. "The enemy will pay the consequences of this miscalculation in both the economic and military arenas."The military engagement followed the August 24 announcement by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent regarding the launch of "Operation Economic Outcast," a campaign designed to cut off Iran's global financial networks and regime revenue sources.