Trump speaks to Ofoq News about his position on the resumption of war, the fate of the talks, and Iran’s missile stockpile

- US President Donald Trump, on Sunday, ruled out issuing orders for the United States to wage war again against Iran, as long as negotiations made progress on Tehran’s nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, repeating this assertion 5 times during an interview with the Ofoq News network. “It depends on whether they sign a very strong agreement or not,” Trump said during a twenty-minute phone interview with Ofek News anchor Jim Sciuto, speaking about Iran.

“The answer is that it is very unlikely that it will be necessary,” he continued. “This year’s data showed an inflation rate of 301%.”

Therefore, it is very unlikely that there will be a need for this. I will if necessary, but we hit them too hard.

I dealt them very strong blows; You can't imagine how powerful it is." He continued, "So, it's highly unlikely that I would have to do that.

They are collapsing financially, and we have hit them militarily. We can completely eliminate them.” “We are ready” The two sides reached a stalemate eight months after the outbreak of the war, as military operations declined and no significant diplomatic progress was achieved, while oil tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz were subjected to Iranian attacks.

The two countries, along with officials from the State of Qatar, which played the role of mediator in the talks, remained silent about the course of these negotiations. But hardliners in Iran saw the results of last week's US midterm elections, which were partly influenced by US voters' dissatisfaction with the war, as an indication of the weakness of the Trump administration.

They believe that this weakness may make the American administration more willing to yield to Tehran's demands, which include allowing it to continue its nuclear program, which it claims it needs for energy purposes, in addition to maintaining its control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran also faces difficulties in selling its crude oil in global markets in light of US sanctions, in addition to the freezing of billions of dollars of its assets in foreign banks.

Trump - who had previously made conflicting statements about the extent of his readiness to end the war - explained during the interview with Ofoq News that American forces are stationed in the region and are on standby in the event that he issues an order to launch a military strike. I have three aircraft carriers here, one of which just arrived.

We have 3 aircraft carriers, and they are fully equipped and ready to operate.” The US President also stated that the United States has identified targets for infrastructure inside Iran - including power plants and bridges - in the event of renewed military action.

He explained: "We have 38 bridges among our targets, which we can destroy within literally one hour; they will all be devastating." However, he indicated that he would prefer not to destroy Iranian infrastructure, saying: “I do not want to do that, because rebuilding it will basically take ten years.

I do not like to demolish bridges, and building a bridge is the most difficult task; It takes years, and I'm good at building.” The Middle East has witnessed an intensification of diplomatic activity since the midterm elections.

Qatar announced on Friday that Trump had called the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to discuss reducing the escalation. A day before that, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi held talks with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman, Pakistan, Kuwait, Jordan, Turkey, Cyprus, and Qatar.

Iranian missile stockpiles and Iran's ability to defend itself against any new US strikes. Trump stated that Iran's air defenses have been destroyed, saying: "They cannot confront anything; they no longer have any air defense means. All their anti-aircraft defenses are gone."

The President also provided new details about the status of Iran's stockpiles of missiles and drones, noting that the regime currently possesses only 10% of its missile capabilities and 15% of its capabilities in the field of drones. He added: “The most they can do is work at approximately 10% capacity, that is, manufacture a limited number of missiles and drones.

As for the drones, the capacity has dropped to about 15%, since most of their factories have been destroyed.” Speaking about the possibility of new military action, Trump reiterated, “There will probably not be a need for that; "They very much want to reach an agreement."