Washington, July 23 (IANS) President Donald Trump has said that Iran was “not ready to make a deal” over its nuclear programme despite suffering heavy military pressure, asserting that Tehran continued to change its negotiating position even as the United States remained determined to prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Paying tribute to four American service members killed in the conflict with Iran, Trump, at a campaign-style rally in Georgia on Wednesday (local time), defended his administration’s military and diplomatic approach towards Tehran while portraying the confrontation as part of a broader effort to restore American strength abroad.
“The stock market has set — and that’s what this skirmish we have going on. I call it a skirmish. This is what this skirmish we have with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump said.
“This is despite this, it’s going on. The stock market has hit 73 all-time highs since the election,” he added, linking the military confrontation with what he described as continued economic confidence in the United States.
Trump said Iran was continuing to resist a negotiated settlement.
“They’re getting hit so hard, and they want to make a deal. But I say, they’re not ready to make a deal because every time they make a deal, they want to change it and everything. They’re not ready. They’ll be ready very soon,” he said.
Reiterating a long-standing US position, Trump said Washington would not allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
“We have to do it because we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” he said while discussing global energy supplies and the Strait of Hormuz.
“So, we’re likewise winning in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and we’re ensuring that they will never, ever be able to do to us what they’ve done to so many.”
Trump also accused Iranian authorities of carrying out widespread repression against protesters.
“You know, they’ve killed 52,000 plus protesters — people that were protesting have been killed, 52,000 over the last 12 months,” he said, adding that the issue received little media attention.
Before travelling to Georgia, Trump said he had attended a dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base for four US service members who died during the conflict with Iran.
“I attended the dignified transfer ceremony for four great US service members killed in the conflict with Iran as they returned to American soil at Dover,” he said.
Trump recounted meeting the family of one of the fallen soldiers, Lieutenant Tyler Feehan, and said he had invited them to travel with him aboard Air Force One to Georgia after learning they lived near the rally venue.
“I just want to thank Tyler’s mother Shari, his father Stephen, and his uncle David,” Trump said. “We will carry Tyler’s memory in our hearts forever.”
Turning briefly to energy security, Trump argued that expanded oil production in the United States and Venezuela had reduced America’s dependence on critical maritime chokepoints.
“If you combine us and Venezuela, we have about 62 per cent of the world’s oil market, so we don’t need straits, we don’t need anything,” he said.
“We don’t need the Hormuz Strait, but we do it because… we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”
The remarks came as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to shape security calculations across West Asia. Any disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of globally traded crude oil passes, has significant implications for international energy markets.
India, one of the world’s largest crude importers, closely monitors developments in the Gulf because of their direct impact on oil supplies, shipping costs and inflation.
–IANS
lkj/sd/
