Trump says US ‘locked and loaded’ for Iran as Tehran sends nuclear proposal
Despite diplomatic efforts to negotiate a peace deal, the US president refuses to rule out further military action, saying a decision will be made soon
The future of the US war in Iran remains uncertain after Donald Trump and his Republican Party suffered a major setback in the midterm elections. However, the 81-year-old president has shown little sign of softening his hardline stance towards Iran.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday (November 5), Trump said the US was “locked and loaded” for a possible military operation in Iran. He also pointed out that the American military was producing more weapons than ever before.
Trump keeps military option open
"We're building more weapons right now in our military than we've ever built before," Trump said. "If we have to do the rest of the Iran thing, we're very much locked and loaded."
Earlier, responding to a question on the possibility of another attack on Iran, Trump said military action remained an option, although he had yet to make up his mind.
"We'll make a decision," Trump said about future US actions in the West Asian country. "Do we want to go further and just certify it? By certifying it, meaning it'll never happen again. I think it'll take them 25 years to rebuild the country. I would rather not destroy the rest of the country, if possible, but maybe I'll have to. You'll know soon enough."
Trump's remarks came after he appeared to partly endorse Vice President JD Vance's assessment that the Iran war and its economic fallout had contributed significantly to the Republicans' poor performance in the midterms. While agreeing with Vance to some extent, Trump defended his decision to go to war, saying he would “do it again” if faced with the same circumstances.
Iran's proposal revives peace efforts
Despite Trump's continued hardline rhetoric, diplomatic efforts are under way behind the scenes to negotiate an agreement between Washington and Tehran. Reuters reported on Thursday that Iran had sent a proposal concerning its nuclear programme to the US through Qatar as part of ongoing discussions on a possible peace deal.
The diplomatic efforts gathered momentum after reports ahead of the US midterm elections suggested that Washington was preparing a major strike on Iran after the polls, allegedly at the urging of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter, reported on Thursday that Iran had submitted the nuclear proposal separately from the conditions outlined in the peace deal. The proposal is contingent on the acceptance of the deal's remaining seven conditions.
Asked about Reuters' report on the nuclear proposal during Thursday's press conference, Trump said Iran was “not doing anything without US approval”.