President Donald Trump said Saturday he is not prepared to reach a deal with Iran to end the war and renewed calls for other countries to send warships to the Middle East to help the US secure the Strait of Hormuz.
More on his comments:
“Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” Trump told NBC News during a phone interview, adding that any agreement would need to be “very solid.”
When asked what those terms might include, the president declined to provide details. “I don’t want to say that to you,” he said.
He also told NBC News the strikes on Kharg Island “totally demolished” most of the island but that “we may hit it a few more times just for fun.”
Trump claimed that “other countries” will be sending warships “in conjunction” with the US to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
It is unclear which countries the president is talking about and whether any countries have agreed to send ships. Trump wrote later in a lengthy post on Truth Social, “Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others” will send ships to the region.
In response to CNN’s requests for comment, neither China nor the UK confirmed whether they are sending warships to the strait.
Trump also raised doubts about the status of Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, noting that he has not appeared publicly since assuming power.
“I don’t know if he’s even alive. So far, nobody’s been able to show him,” Trump said.
“I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender,” the president added, describing reports of Khamenei’s death as “a rumor.”
CNN’s Riane Lumer, Alejandra Jaramillo, Max Saltman and Billy Stockwell contributed reporting.