The US would prefer to sign a deal with Iran that renders it non-nuclear rather than attack the Islamic Republic, US President Donald Trump told the New York Post in an exclusive interview on Saturday.
“I would like a deal done with Iran on non-nuclear. I would prefer that to bombing the hell out of it,” the president was cited as saying.
“They don’t want to die. Nobody wants to die,” he added.
Regarding possible negotiations between the two parties, Trump stated, “In a way, I don’t like telling you what I’m going to tell them. You know, it’s not nice.”
“I could tell what I have to tell them, and I hope they decide that they’re not going to do what they’re currently thinking of doing. And I think they’ll really be happy,” he added.
In the interview, Trump reiterated a similar stance he voiced last week in a Truth Social post.
“I want Iran to be a great and successful country, but one that cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he wrote on Wednesday.
“I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper,” Trump noted.
The Islamic Republic’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said following Trump’s remarks last week that fears regarding his country’s development of nuclear weapons could be resolved as Iran was opposed to weapons of mass destruction.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday that Iran is ready to give the United States a chance to resolve disputes.
‘Maximum pressure’
Speaking with The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy on Iran, noting the US president’s wish to achieve a deal with Iran was “the pivot of everything that we’re talking about.”
On Thursday, Araghchi said that “maximum pressure” from the US against Iran would only be met with “maximum resistance” in an X/Twitter post.
Amichai Stein and Reuters contributed to this report.
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