Trump: Iran "strong and proud" but will have to agree to deal

President Donald Trump said on Friday, June 6, that Iranian leaders have yet to reach an agreement with the United States to end the ongoing conflict, describing them as “strong” and “proud,” but asserting that “they’ve got no choice” but to eventually come to terms.

“They’re strong, they’re proud, there are things they never thought they’d be doing that they’re going to have to do. They’ve got no choice, and it takes a little while,” Trump told Kristen Welker during an interview for NBC News’ “Meet the Press” in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

His remarks come as US and Iranian officials continue negotiations to end the war, which entered its fourth month last week. A ceasefire agreed in April has been extended multiple times, although tensions have escalated in recent days following exchanges of strikes near the Strait of Hormuz.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Wednesday that the military campaign, referred to by the administration as “Operation Epic Fury,” “has concluded.” He said recent strikes were “defensive in nature,” carried out in response to Iranian attacks on ships in the region.

“In order to protect our own forces, we don’t just strike the drones, we strike the people who launch those drones. These are completely defensive in nature, but they are happening in response to an Iranian action. If they don’t shoot at those ships, we don’t shoot, but we have to respond,” Rubio said.

The conflict has had significant economic repercussions. Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz months ago disrupted a critical global oil transit route, contributing to a surge in international oil prices and rising fuel costs in the United States, increasing pressure on the administration and Republican lawmakers.

During the interview, Trump rejected calls to accelerate a diplomatic resolution.

“It takes years to do these things,” he said, adding: “These people have been fighting for 47 years. They’ve been killing Americans. They’ve been taking off their legs and their arms and their faces have been hurt so badly and so horribly.”

He compared the duration of the current conflict with the Vietnam War, stating: “I’m moving very fast. I’m into three months. You know, Vietnam lasted 19 years. I’m into my third month, and all they do is say, ‘Whoa, when are you going to win?’ If I were a Democrat, nobody would be talking that way, but it doesn’t matter to me. I’ve gotten so used to it.”

Trump said US forces have “totally destroyed their military,” although he acknowledged that Iran retains some operational capability.

“Most of the drone factories have been knocked out, most of the launching pads have been knocked out, and most of the missile manufacturing areas have been knocked out. But they still have capacity. They have some missiles, they have some drones,” he said. “I would say percentagewise, maybe 21%-22% of their missiles. It’s a lot of missiles, but it’s not what it was when we first attacked.”

Iran demonstrated that remaining capability earlier this week by launching a series of strikes across the Persian Gulf, including an attack that hit Kuwait International Airport.

Trump and other administration officials have repeatedly argued that the conflict—triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran—was necessary to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.

In a separate interview on Wednesday with the New York Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast, Trump said it was “unlikely” that the US blockade imposed after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz would remain in place by Labor Day.

He also raised the possibility that no agreement may be reached.

“Do we sign a deal or we do it the other way?” Trump said. “And the other way is not nice.”

By Tamilla Hasanova