US President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that the denuclearization of Iran is moving along well, even as the US conducted strikes on Iranian ships for three consecutive nights. Speaking about the Iran imbroglio, Trump emphasized that the process is on track despite ongoing military actions.
Trump's Remarks on Denuclearization Progress
Trump said, "As far as things are going, the denuclearization of Iran is moving along well. They've had very good meetings and we'll see. We hit them very hard for three nights as you know. But we're getting along very well, so I call it the denuclearization and it's all taking place, it's all going well." He further linked the situation to economic indicators, noting that the stock market is setting records virtually every day while oil prices have dropped.
Trump added, "The stock market is setting records virtually every day. The oil price is way down. We're down at 68, I see it hit 68 today. That's lower than when I started the, I guess you could call it an attack on Iran, so that they never have a nuclear weapon. So the oil price is now lower, the retail prices, the gasoline is coming down rapidly."
Iran's Response to US-Led Summit
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, strongly criticized the US-led regional security summit in Bahrain on Thursday. He rejected Western attempts to dictate security frameworks in the Persian Gulf and the strategic Strait of Hormuz. In a post on X, Gharibabadi asserted that "Hormuz is defined under Iran's command, not CENTCOM" and maintained that a military summit in Bahrain cannot establish "legal order and security for the Persian Gulf."
Context of US-Iran Tensions
The remarks come amid repeated ceasefire talks that have metamorphosed into ceaseless strikes. Trump reiterated that Iran cannot possess a nuclear weapon, saying, "I think they've come a long way. We hit them very hard last week. I think they're fine. I think we're going to, it's the denuclearization of Iran, it's very simple. And Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, otherwise all of this stuff that we look at, all of these things that we do, the country's never had activity like it's got right now."
