Trump called off attack at the last minute: 'It was an hour away, everything was ready, I had made my decision'

U.S. President Donald Trump toured the construction of the White House State Dining Room and answered questions from members of the press.

Arguing that the U.S. has defeated Iran "badly" and brought them to the table, Trump stated, "We are negotiating with Iran, they are begging to make a deal."

Expressing his hope that the U.S. will not have to go to war, Trump said, "We may have to hit them with a hard blow once more, I'm not sure yet, we'll find out soon."

"I'm not sure about changing the regime in Cuba"

When asked about the possibility of a diplomatic deal with Cuba, Trump answered, "I think so." Trump added, "Cuba is calling us, they need help. Cuba is a failed country. We will provide the help they need."

Stating that he loves Cuban Americans, Trump said, "They have families in Cuba. They have been treated very, very badly and we will fix that. It won't be hard for us to stop this. I'm not sure about changing the regime. I could do that too. But the regime was really very harsh. They killed many people. The country is really in need of help. They have nothing. They have no electricity, they cannot eat."

"We have made Iran ready to negotiate"

Stating that the U.S. is negotiating with Iran alongside Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as Kuwait, Bahrain, and others, Trump said, "They called me in the last two days and said they have made great progress. We have made Iran ready to negotiate. We are all working together as a team. We are negotiating together. Of course, Israel has also become a great partner."

Trump said, "Yesterday they called me and said, ‘Sir, can you wait a little?’ They said, ‘We think we are close to a deal.’ I said okay, but I've heard this before. These people change their minds."

Expressing that reaching the uranium in Iran is important, Trump said, "This is perhaps more important than anything else from a psychological perspective."

"It was an hour away"

When asked, "How close did you come to attacking Iran?" U.S. President Donald Trump replied, "It was an hour away. Everything was ready. I had made my decision. Then they called, and when they heard I had made my decision, they said, ‘Sir, can you give us a few more days?’"

Signal that an attack on Iran is near

Regarding a deadline for an attack on Iran, Trump said, "Maybe two or three more days, probably Friday or Saturday. Maybe the beginning of next week. Because we cannot allow them to have nuclear weapons. If they had nuclear weapons, they would hit Israel first. Then, they would attack Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE. They would attack Qatar. They would attack the entire Middle East."

"I will not allow the world to blow up while I am in office"

Regarding the claim that an attack on Iran does not have support among the American public and is not "popular," Trump said, "I think it is extremely popular." Arguing that people understand the threat of Iran possessing nuclear weapons, Trump said, "While I am in office, I will not allow the world to blow up."

"Iran's retaliatory capacity is low"

When asked if there is any concern about Iran retaliating during discussions with regional partners, Trump said, "Iran's retaliatory capacity is low. 82 percent of their missiles are gone. We estimate that they have very little capacity to reproduce this right now. Because you know, we hit all their production sites. The situation is the same regarding unmanned aerial vehicles. They have been largely destroyed. But they still have some capacity. Not much, but they have some."

"President Xi told me he would not send any weapons to Iran"

Trump said, "President Xi told me he would not send any weapons to Iran. That is a nice promise. I believe this promise and I appreciate it. We had a great time in China. We were already getting along very well with him, but we had a great time with President Xi."

Trump also said that Chinese President Xi Jinping wants the Strait of Hormuz to remain open. Trump said, "Like me, he wants it to remain open. I want it to remain open and we will keep it open. Iran has used the straits as a military weapon for 47 years. Even longer than that. The straits are not theirs. That is an international waterway. It is not up to them to do this."

"We are not leaving. We will do this the right way"

Trump stated, "If we left Iran today, it would take them 25 years to recover, but we are not leaving. We will do this the right way."

News Source: 12punto