The Hague: US President Donald Trump said here on Wednesday that a ceasefire between Iran and Israel is going “very good,” following days of intense military escalation between the two foes.
“I think it’s (going) very good. Israel came back yesterday,” Trump told reporters at the NATO summit in The Hague, referring to his Tuesday warning to Israel to halt airstrikes on Iran.
Speaking about Iran’s uranium enrichment efforts, Trump said he would not tolerate uranium enrichment, and if that happens, he would primarily solve it through military means.
“I’ll tell you the last thing they want to do is to enrich anything right now. They want to recover. We won’t let that happen. Number one, militarily. We won’t.”
He went on to describe the impact of the US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities as “total obliteration.”
On June 13, Israel launched major airstrikes on different areas in Iran, including nuclear and military sites, killing senior commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. Iran responded by launching several waves of missile and drone attacks on Israel, inflicting casualties and heavy damage.
On Saturday, the US Air Force bombed three Iranian nuclear sites of Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. In retaliation, Iran on Monday attacked the US Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar with missiles.
Following Iran’s attack, Trump announced that a ceasefire between Iran and Israel would begin around 0400 GMT on Tuesday. Both sides later confirmed the start of the ceasefire, Xinhua news agency reported.
US President Donald Trump also said that if Iran rebuilds nuclear facilities, the United States will carry out another strike on it.
Asked if the United States would strike again if Iran rebuilt its nuclear enrichment programme, Trump said: “Sure.”
Trump also said Washington will not allow Tehran to continue enriching uranium, including using military means.
“We will not let that happen. Number one, militarily. I think we will end up having somewhat of a relationship with Iran,” he said.
(IANS)
