U.S. President Donald Trump expressed doubts about his Iran policy in remarks to reporters following the NATO summit in Ankara. Trump said Iran very much wants to make a deal with the U.S. and had recently reached out to them.
However, Trump said, "They want it so badly, I'm not sure whether to go ahead with such a deal. I don't trust that they would abide by the agreements we reach. That's the problem."
Claim of military superiority
Assessing military operations against Iran, the U.S. President said, "Every time they hit us, we will respond twenty times stronger. We did exactly that last night."
"Militarily, we have already won. They have very few capabilities left."
Asked about Iran's attacks on commercial ships, Trump replied, "To be honest, it seems a bit crazy. They are acting erratically, but they very much want to make a deal."
Relations with Turkey and the NATO summit
Trump gave a positive assessment of NATO's 36th summit of heads of state and government in Ankara, emphasizing relations with Turkey.
"We had two very good days. We signed very good trade deals with Turkey. They have been a very good partner."
Trump described Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as "magnificent" and also viewed the meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa positively.
The U.S. leader said he had a "very good meeting" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and noted that there was genuine unity among NATO leaders.
"Today we saw real unity. NATO has really come a long way."
Trump said European allies are taking steps to increase defense spending and that many issues have been resolved.
Returning to the Iran issue, Trump added that what is happening is not so much a war as a process to eliminate the possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, and that everyone should be pleased about that.
