US President Donald Trump said that Iran is showing great eagerness to make a deal with Washington, but that he does not believe the Tehran administration will comply with such an agreement.
Trump made the remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One after the 36th NATO summit of heads of state and government in Ankara.
Iran's Military Capabilities and Desire for a Deal
Assessing military operations against Iran, the US President said, "Every time they hit us, we will respond twenty times stronger. We did exactly that last night."
Trump noted that Iran also retaliated, suggesting it was a response to US strikes. Trump claimed that they were winning militarily and that Iran had very few capabilities left.
"Militarily, we have already won. They have very few capabilities left"
Trump said that Tehran was eager for a deal and had recently contacted the US.
"They very much want to make a deal. They reached out to us recently. They want it so much that I'm not sure whether to go ahead with such a deal. I don't trust them to comply with the agreements we reach. That's the problem"
Asked about Iran's attacks on commercial ships, Trump replied, "To be honest, it seems a bit crazy. They are acting erratically, but they very much want to make a deal."
Relations with Turkey and the NATO Summit
Trump assessed the NATO summit in Ankara positively, placing special emphasis on relations with Turkey.
"We had two very good days. We signed very good trade deals with Turkey. They have been a very good partner"
Speaking highly of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Trump said, "He was magnificent."
The US leader also found his meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa positive. Trump said, "He did an excellent job. He managed to unite Syria."
Trump, who said he had a "very good meeting" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, noted that there was real unity among NATO leaders.
"Today we saw real unity. NATO has really come a long way"
Trump said that European allies had taken significant steps to increase defense spending and that the US had long carried an unfair burden, but that many issues were resolved today.
Returning to Iran, Trump added that what was happening was not a war but rather a process to eliminate the possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, and that everyone should be pleased with that.
