Donald Trump, confident in U.S. capabilities and in his ability to decisively strike Iran, spoke for one hour and thirty-nine minutes from the James Brady Briefing Room at the White House. He warned that “the entire country could be eliminated in a single night and that night could be tomorrow,” while still leaving room for negotiations with Tehran, which he said are progressing. He described the new Iranian leadership as “smarter and less radical,” reiterated that the United States did not act to pursue regime change, and said there is an active and willing interlocutor on the other side.
At the same time, Trump confirmed that the ultimatum set for Tuesday evening at 8:00 p.m. (2:00 a.m. Wednesday in Italy) remains in effect and said he is prepared to strike bridges and power plants if no agreement is reached in time. He claimed to have “the best plan of all” but would not disclose it to the media, and warned that Iran’s infrastructure could be destroyed in less than four hours after the ultimatum expires.
“Every bridge in Iran would be decimated by midnight tomorrow; every power plant would be out of service, in flames, destroyed and unusable. I mean a total demolition by midnight, and it would all happen within four hours. If we wanted. But we do not want that to happen,” the president said, intensifying his threats to devastate Iran if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened. He added that if such attacks occurred, Tehran would need a century to rebuild.
Standing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, special envoy Steve Witkoff, Joint Chiefs chair Dan Caine and CIA director John Ratcliffe, Trump described the mission to recover the two missing U.S. airmen in Iran as one of the most complex operations in U.S. history. He praised the CIA’s role, likening their work to “finding a needle in a haystack.” He said the rescue operation involved more than 170 aircraft-155 of them for the second rescue-and hundreds of personnel, though much of the effort was a ruse to divert Iranian forces from the downed pilot. He also said an F-15E was shot down last Friday by a single shoulder-fired missile.
At the press conference, attended by some members of the Trump family including daughter Tiffany and son Eric, the president reiterated the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. “This is a very high priority,” he said, dismissing the idea that Tehran could levy tolls on ships passing through: “What if we were the ones to collect the tolls? I’d rather do that than let them. Why shouldn’t we? We are the winners. We’ve won. They are militarily defeated.”
Trump said any agreement must include reopening the Strait. Earlier the same day at a White House event he had called a proposal from other countries such as Pakistan for a 45-day ceasefire “a significant step, but not enough”. “We must reach an agreement acceptable to me, and part of that agreement will require free passage for oil and everything else,” he stated.
During the briefing, Trump sharply criticized U.S. allies for not supporting the United States in the conflict-singling out Japan, Australia, South Korea, and NATO-and said Gulf states had been more helpful.
Speaking about the Atlantic Alliance, the president expressed his “disappointment,” tracing the rift back to his earlier proposal to acquire Greenland. “I’m very disappointed. I think this leaves a stain on NATO that will never go away; it will never leave my mind. You know, they’re coming to see me Wednesday. They’ll say, ‘Oh, we’ll do this,’ ‘We’ll do that.’ Now, all of a sudden, they want to send equipment, you understand?” he complained ahead of a White House visit by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
He particularly criticized several NATO members for refusing to support U.S. operations against Iran, including decisions by some nations to close their airspace or bases to U.S. forces. “NATO is a paper tiger,” Trump said, dismissing suggestions that the United States might relinquish its de facto leadership of the Alliance. “Obviously we didn’t need them, since they provided no help.” He also asserted, “Putin is not afraid of NATO. Putin is afraid of us, he is very afraid of us.”
When asked by a New York Times reporter about the possibility of committing war crimes by targeting Iran’s civilian infrastructure in violation of the Geneva Conventions, Trump said he was not worried. His priority, he added, is to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon: “If you think I will allow them to get a nuclear weapon, tell your friends at the New York Times: it will not happen.”
Trump said the situation is critical and that the U.S. could “bomb them mercilessly,” but he remains hopeful an agreement can be reached in the coming hours and believes Iran seeks to avoid the worst outcome. He asserted that God supports American actions in the conflict-“God is good”-but added that he does not like to see people killed. (by Iacopo Luzi)
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