President Trump is refuting reports that he “waved off” an Israeli plan to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites, while his administration has been meeting with Iranian officials to discuss their nuclear program.
Seated beside Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office Thursday, Mr. Trump said, “I wouldn’t say ’waved off.’”
“I’m not in a rush to do it because I think that Iran has a chance to have a great country and to live happily without death. And I’d like to see that, that’s my first option,” he said.
The president said, “If there’s a second option, I think that would be very bad for Iran and I think Iran is wanting to talk. I hope they’re wanting to talk. It’s going to be very good for them if they do.”
Mr. Trump said he wants to see Iran “thrive in the future, do fantastically well.” He called the Iranian people “incredible people.”
“I don’t want to do anything that’s gonna hurt anybody. I really don’t,” he said. “Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon, it’s pretty simple.”
“We’re not looking to take their industry. We’re not looking to take their land. All we’re saying is you can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
U.S. officials met with Iranian officials last Saturday, and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in an X post that the talks were “well executed.”
Mr. Trump maintains that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and there are plans to talk again in Rome over the weekend.
