US President Trump announces the basic terms of a deal with Iran: Either on paper or militarily

US President Donald Trump answered questions from reporters at a White House event where new investments in the coal industry were announced. When asked whether both sides would make concessions in the process of ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, Trump replied, "I think it will happen. I believe both sides will make concessions. I proposed these concessions, and we have played a significant role in this process."

When asked what concessions he demanded from Putin, Trump responded by saying, "I prefer not to say."

Trump said, "We would love to see this come to an end. Both are truly extraordinary and beautiful countries. We saw that about 25,000 people, mostly soldiers, died last month. There were some civilians, but most were soldiers. We are talking about an average of about 25,000 soldiers dying every month. I have been extremely determined that this war must end. That is why I want both sides to make certain concessions, and I think they will do so."

I said, "It would be great if you wanted to help." But they all refused.

When asked if there was still a request for help from European allies regarding the Strait of Hormuz, Trump replied, "We gave them the opportunity to help, but they chose not to. We went to NATO countries. To be fair, we also went to countries outside of NATO. I cannot say I pressured them. I just said, 'It would be great if you wanted to help.' But they all refused. And this will cost them dearly. They should have helped."

"We hit almost everything that could be hit"

Stating that they won regarding Iran even without the help of European allies, Trump said, "Literally, within three days, almost all of the military command structure was destroyed. They had to appoint new generals. Then they had to appoint new generals once again. We hit their air defenses. We hit their air force. We hit almost everything that could be hit."

"If US soldiers are killed, I would respond to that very quickly"

When asked whether the killing of a US military service member by Iran would lead to a return to war, US President Donald Trump replied, "Yes, that would be a strong reason to return to war. To be honest, if US soldiers were killed, I would respond to that very quickly."

When asked if it was out of the question for Hezbollah to reject American mediation, Trump responded, "They didn't reject it. Also, regarding Hezbollah, I can say this: they called us and said, 'How about stopping this?' I think you will see some developments there." Stating that the situation is linked to Iran, Trump said, "It would be really nice for Lebanon to have some peace." Trump added, "I discussed this issue with Netanyahu. Actually, I also spoke with Hezbollah. I think progress is being made."

"I didn't want to be Jimmy Carter"

When asked whether a deal with Iran was necessary to remove "nuclear dust" from Iran and whether he had considered removing this material through a covert military operation, Trump referred to the failed 1980 operation "Eagle Claw" aimed at rescuing hostages at the US Embassy in Tehran.

Trump, "I didn't want to be Jimmy Carter. I didn't feel like being Jimmy Carter. We thought about it at the very beginning, yes. Before everything else, before destroying all their military power, we thought about it and evaluated it." he said.

Stating that Iran is not a place like Venezuela where you can just go in and take something in a few minutes, Trump said, "This is different. You would have to stay there for two weeks. You would need a lot of equipment. You would have to transport this equipment by air. And you know, this is a war zone." Trump added, "We could go and take it right now. I don't think they could stop us if we wanted to. But there is no need for that. The material is buried."

Possibility of a meeting with Khamenei

When a reporter stated, "We heard you want to meet with the Ayatollah," Trump replied, "I don't want to meet. But if a meeting happens, I would be honored." Trump added, "If we reach an agreement, it might be possible for me to meet with him. I would look favorably upon that."

"We will win either on paper or militarily"

Regarding the deal being negotiated with Iran, Trump said, "You will see what the deal is, but the basic elements of the deal are these: Iran will not possess nuclear weapons and the Strait of Hormuz will be opened immediately. Furthermore, we have cleared most of the mines. We have the world's most advanced mine-sweeping systems. These are underwater mine-sweeping systems." Trump stated, "But we will see. We will win one way or another. We will win either on paper or militarily."