Trump: We destroyed all the new equipment they were trying to build

US President Donald Trump answered questions from reporters following a meeting with representatives of major travel companies at the White House. When asked whether he would send CIA agents into Iran to arm the Iranian people against the administration, Trump said, "I would love to say that, but it wouldn't be appropriate to say. However, I understand the difficult situation the Iranian people are in. They are being shot (by the regime)."

Claiming that 52,000 protesters were killed in Iran three months ago and that this number has increased by another 20 to 25 thousand, Trump said, "The number of protesters killed has approached 65,000."

The US President stated, "The regime is getting weaker every day. At some point, they won't be able to shoot people so easily because I think the public won't be able to endure it much longer."

"New attacks will not last very long"

When asked how much longer the renewed attacks on Iran would continue, Trump replied that the US's new attacks against Iran "will not last very long." The US President responded, "We have taken control of the Strait of Hormuz and we are maintaining that control. We are moving a large number of ships carrying millions of barrels of oil through the strait every day. We do this mostly without any problems. Every now and then they carry out a drone attack, but we shoot them down. We have very strong control."

"We destroyed all the new equipment they were trying to build"

Stating that Iran was trying to rebuild its radar systems, a missile system, and a mine-laying system, but that these had been destroyed, Trump said, "We see everything they do. They cannot move. They can't even go to the bathroom without us seeing. Therefore, we saw what was happening and we destroyed it."

Trump said, "That is why we carried out a very heavy attack on them last night. Very heavy. They made a small touch, but we hit them very heavily last night. We destroyed all the new equipment they were trying to build along the Strait of Hormuz."

Saying that some of the destroyed equipment was for defensive purposes and some for offensive purposes, Trump added, "We are ready to carry out a new attack whenever we want."

Arguing that the fact that midterm elections in the US will be held in November does not affect his strategy toward Iran, Trump said, "The elections don't affect me. I am not a candidate, but my party is running in the election and I will help my party. On the other hand, I think my party respects that we do not allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons."

"(Ukraine-Russia) They need to stop this stupid war"

When asked if he had watched the footage of young people in Ukraine being abducted from the streets and conscripted, Trump said, "I know the footage. I have heard very serious things about these. Look, this was a war that should never have happened. If the 2020 election hadn't been rigged, this war would never have started. It didn't start for four years. I was in office from 2016 to 2020. I would talk to Putin and something like this wouldn't happen. There was zero chance."

Stating that there are 25,000 troop losses per month in the war in Ukraine, Trump said, "A large number of soldiers, both Ukrainian and Russian, are being killed. They need to stop this stupid war. We are continuing our efforts as well."

Trump expressed, "I think we are quite close to the end. The time is coming. They seem to be experiencing a new burst of energy, but I think it's ending. I am talking to both leaders and I am of the opinion that they will stop the war."

"We can hold a summit with Putin when we are ready to sign a peace treaty"

When asked about the possibility of holding a new summit with Putin, Trump said, "I would like to do that when we are ready to sign a peace treaty. We can hold a summit. I am of the opinion that I could arrange that immediately. However, I want to do this as the war is ending, and I think we will achieve that."

"We don't need Canada, they need us"

Regarding a question about the possibility of restarting trade negotiations with Canada, the US's second-largest trading partner, Trump replied, "I don't know, but I can say this: Canada has been taking advantage of the US for decades. We are losing 60 to 100 billion dollars a year in our trade with Canada. We have been experiencing such a loss for the last 15 years. This is an extremely unfair situation."

Trump said, "We have more oil and natural gas than them. We have vast forests. We don't need their lumber or other things they have. They need what we have. They do most of their trade with us."

Trump stated, "We don't need them. They need us. They have been taking advantage of us for years and it is time to put an end to this."

"(Prince Harry and his wife Meghan) If I were the royal family, I wouldn't take them back"

When asked for his reaction to the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, and Duchess Meghan Markle, who left their royal duties in the UK in 2020 and settled in the US, returning to the UK from the US, Trump said, "I'm glad it happened that way. I can't say I'm much of a fan."

Continuing his statement, which caused laughter, Trump said, "I think they have shown great disrespect to the royal family. I didn't like that. I didn't like the way Meghan behaved. I thought she acted extremely disrespectfully toward Queen Camilla and King Charles. Maybe I think differently, but if I were the royal family, I wouldn't take them back."