Trump's provocative statement: Putin might be helping Iran a little

U.S. President Donald Trump made statements regarding the conflicts in the Middle East during a radio program he attended. When asked "why action is not being taken against Iranian sleeper cells in the country if their locations are known following recent attacks in the U.S.," Trump replied, "We are watching them very carefully. There are also many good people. That's the problem. But we are watching them very, very carefully. They are under surveillance."

"Khamenei is alive but I think he is wounded"

When asked whether Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is still alive, Trump replied, "He is probably alive, but I think he is wounded. But I think he is alive in some way." When asked what his message to Iran's new supreme leader was, Trump said, "They talk a lot. So he will have to put that into action, we'll see. We are destroying them. We have neutralized most of their missiles. We have neutralized many of their drones. We have neutralized most of the manufacturing facilities where they produce missiles and drones. We are hitting them harder than anyone has hit them since World War II."

He said they would escort tankers in the Strait of Hormuz "if necessary"

When asked about providing assistance for oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump replied, "We will do it if necessary. But we hope things will go very well. We'll see what happens."

Stating that Iran resorts to efforts to block traffic in the Strait of Hormuz as a "last resort," Trump said, "Their navy is completely destroyed. Their air force is gone. Their leadership is gone. Their second-tier leadership is gone. Now, their third-tier leadership is also having trouble. This new supreme leader is someone even his father didn't want."

"We are not currently focused on an operation to seize Iran's uranium"

When asked about reports that Iran possesses more than 400 kilograms of enriched uranium and whether the U.S. is considering an operation to seize it, Trump replied, "We are not currently focused on an operation to seize Iran's uranium. We are not focused on that right now, but we might be at some point."

"They were planning to take over the Middle East"

Emphasizing that the U.S. is currently focused on destroying Iran's missile and drone capacity, Trump said, "They had so many missiles. We hit them hard the first time. This time, we did much more and dealt a much heavier blow. If they had all those missiles in their hands, their goal wouldn't just have been to wipe out Israel. They were planning to take over the entire Middle East."

Trump added, "I think they were producing 200 rockets a month, and that would have protected a nuclear program that would be rebuilt."

He said the U.S. will not withdraw from Gulf countries

When asked if a U.S. withdrawal from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia was on the agenda after Iran's supreme leader said attacks on Gulf countries would continue until U.S. bases were closed and American soldiers in the region were withdrawn, Trump replied, "No." Trump said, "Gulf countries are doing a very good job of protecting themselves. They have great Patriot missiles. These are defensive missiles and they are nearly one hundred percent accurate when used."

When asked if he agreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call to the Iranian people that the time to overthrow the regime is near, Trump stated that "people who want to protest in Iran are being killed" and said "this is very risky." Trump said, "I think Netanyahu understands this too. He didn't say it would happen right now. Time will pass, and as time passes, they will be in a worse situation. We are hitting them very hard."

"They only have thug groups roaming the streets"

Arguing that the U.S. has the capacity to destroy everything in Iran within an hour, Trump said, "They have power generation plants, water supply facilities, and desalination plants everywhere. We can do things such that they could never rebuild themselves as a nation again. But we choose not to do that. Now they go and hit civilians everywhere, but we don't do that."

Trump said, "They have almost no army left. They only have thug groups roaming the streets. When they are caught, they will be tried and executed. We know who they are in the records. They had better surrender their weapons. Because we have footage of these people shooting and roaming around among protesters."

"Putin might be helping Iran"

When asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is helping Iran, Trump replied, "I think he might be helping them a little. He thinks we're helping Ukraine, right? They're probably saying, 'They're doing it, so we're doing it.' China is probably saying the same thing."

"We did not receive help from Ukraine regarding UAV defense"

When asked if Ukraine is helping the U.S. in defense against Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Trump replied, "No, we don't need help with UAV defense. We know more about UAVs than anyone else. We have the best UAVs in the world."

"Long gas lines have formed in China"

Stating that he could confirm the claims that long gas lines have formed in China, Trump said, "Yes, the reports about long lines are true. But look, Chinese President Xi Jinping is a strong leader. A strong administrator. We have good relations with him, and I am going there soon."

Trump added, "We are also in a good position economically with China. They want to do business with us. As you know, we have had a good relationship. Of course, a very competitive relationship."

News Source: 12punto