U.S. President Donald Trump described his administration’s military campaign against Tehran as “the denuking of Iran” rather than a war, while questioning how Jewish Americans could vote for the Democratic Party given his record on Israel.
Speaking in an interview with CNBC aired on Thursday, Trump asserted that he has “been the best president in the history of Israel.” Turning his focus to domestic politics, he added, “how a Jewish person can vote for a Democrat is beyond me.”
Addressing the regional conflict, Trump insisted that preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear capabilities remains his primary objective. “This is not a war per se. This is the denuking of Iran,” Trump said. “You can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.”
The president claimed that U.S. military operations over the past four months have left Iran “totally defeated militarily,” reporting that American strikes have dismantled its navy, air force, and radar systems. Despite the hostilities, Trump indicated that diplomatic progress is being made, stating, “I think they’ve agreed to just about everything we need.”
Trump also outlined a post-conflict economic plan to leverage Iran’s depleted financial state, which he claimed includes 300% inflation resulting from a U.S. naval blockade. According to Trump, the U.S. intends to use seized or negotiated funds to purchase agricultural commodities for the country. “We’re going to take some of the money, and we’re going to buy them. They need food,” Trump told CNBC. He specified that Iran “needs corn, and wheat, and soybeans,” and vowed to “have exclusively our American farmers provide that.”