Trump's 'A deal could happen very soon' statement: 'Iran gave 20 tanker loads of oil as a sign of respect'

US President Donald Trump, made statements to reporters on the plane while returning to the capital, Washington.

Stating that attacks on Iran are continuing, Trump said, "Today we destroyed a large number of additional targets. Their navy is gone, their Air Force is gone; we know this. But today we destroyed many more targets. It was a big day."

Despite this, Trump noted that contacts with Iran are also continuing, saying, "We are negotiating with them through both direct and indirect channels. We have representatives, but we are also in direct contact."

Reminding that Iran had previously gifted 10 tankers of oil to the US, Trump said, "And today, I don't know exactly what to call it, but I think they gave us 20 tanker loads of oil as a sign of respect toward us. This shipment, which will be carried by massive oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, will begin tomorrow morning."

Claiming that the negotiations with Iran are going "extremely well," Trump assessed, "But when it comes to Iran, you never know what will happen, because we are both negotiating with them and having to blow them up every time."

"WE WILL PROBABLY MAKE A DEAL"

Criticizing the nuclear deal former US President Barack Obama made with Iran, Trump emphasized that he was the one who canceled it. Claiming that otherwise Iran could have possessed nuclear weapons by now, Trump said, "We carried out an attack with B-2 bombers and prevented them from becoming a nuclear power. Now we had to hit them again. We will probably make a deal with them, I am quite sure of that; but there is also a possibility that we won't."

"REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN HAPPENED SPONTANEOUSLY"

Claiming that a de facto regime change has taken place in Iran, Trump said, "Actually, if you look at it, we have already had a regime change; because that first regime was shattered, destroyed. They are all dead. The next regime is also largely dead. And in this third regime, we are facing completely different people that no one has dealt with before." Stating that the people they are currently dealing with are a different group, Trump said, "That is why I accept this as a regime change. And frankly, they have acted quite reasonably. Therefore, I think we have experienced a regime change. You cannot do better than this. The really bad regime was the first one to go. The second one was appointed and they are gone too. Maybe except for one who showed some signs of life, they are all dead. Now there is this third group that seems much more reasonable. This is truly a regime change; regime change is not a necessity, but I think this situation happened spontaneously, automatically."

"A DEAL WITH IRAN COULD HAPPEN VERY SOON"

Reiterating that a deal with Iran is possible in response to a question, Trump stated that it "could happen very soon." Regarding a potential ground operation, Trump said, "I have many alternatives. We have a lot of ships there. Thanks to our power, we don't even need all of them. I can say that we are far ahead of schedule, even weeks ahead, regarding Iran. If you had said that we would destroy 158 ships, that is their entire navy, in three days, you wouldn't have believed it, but we did it. We disabled their entire air force. We destroyed most of their missiles; that is why even if you see some missile attacks now, they are decreasing, they are about to run out."

"MOJTABA KHAMENEI MAY BE ALIVE"

Reiterating his claim that a de facto regime change has occurred in Iran, Trump said, "We are facing a new group; this is truly a new regime. A new group of people we have never dealt with before and who are acting very reasonably." When asked, "Is Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei alive and part of the new group you are dealing with?", Trump replied, "He might be. It is not clear what happened to him. He might be alive, but he is clearly in big trouble; he is seriously wounded."

"THEY AGREE WITH US ON THE PLAN"

Stating that Iran has largely accepted the 15-point plan presented by the US, Trump said, "They agree with us on the plan. We asked for 15 things and we have largely agreed, now we will ask for a few more things." Stating that Iran sent oil to the US to prove they are serious, Trump assessed, "I said they gave me a gift, but I didn't think I had the authority to explain what happened at that moment. That gift later increased by 2 and was 10 massive tanker loads of oil. Today, they gave another gift: 20 tanker loads of oil. The shipment starts tomorrow. We are having very good talks both directly and indirectly, and I think we are making progress on many very important issues."

"IT IS NOT A PROBLEM FOR ME IF THEY SEND OIL TO CUBA"

When reminded of reports that the US would allow a Russian oil tanker to go to Cuba, Trump said, "We have no objection to someone taking a ship full of fuel because they need to survive. If a country wants to send oil to Cuba right now, it is not a problem for me at all." When asked, "Does it worry you whether this country is Russia or not?" Trump replied, "It is just a ship full of oil, that is all. It is not a problem. If Russia or other countries want to do this, it does not bother me much. It will not have an effect either. Cuba is finished. They have a very bad and corrupt administration. Whether they receive a ship full of oil or not will not change anything. Whether it is Russia or someone else, I would prefer it to be allowed because people need heating, cooling, and other basic necessities."

"WE CAN CLOSE THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ IN TWO MINUTES"

When reminded of plans by Iran to control the Strait of Hormuz and collect transit fees, Trump said, "We will have to see if that is true or not. You know, they will do what they have to do. But we can close that place in two minutes. We would close it so fast that you would not know what hit you." In response to the question, "Do you want the Gulf countries attacked by Iran to launch a counter-attack?" Trump replied, "They are already responding. Saudi Arabia is responding firmly. Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, they are all fighting. Actually, they were surprised when they were hit; I was also very surprised that they were hit. But once they took a hit, they started fighting very well. We have very strong communication with all these countries and they are all currently in the fight."

News Source: İHA