US President Donald Trump called the possibility of a ground invasion by the US and Israeli forces in Iran a “waste of time” while reacting to a comment made by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier.
Abbas Araghchi had told “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas that his country is ready for a ground invasion by American and Israeli forces. Araghchi struck a defiant tone and said, “…we are waiting for them…Because we are confident that we can confront them, and that would be a big disaster for them.”
Trump called Araghchi’s remark a “wasted comment” and suggested an invasion is not something he is thinking about at this time.
Trump told nbc news in a phone call, “It’s a waste of time. They’ve lost everything. They’ve lost their navy. They’ve lost everything they can lose.” He added that the pace and intensity of strikes will continue.
His latest comment seems to contradict his earlier take on the possibility of ground invasion in Iran.
On March 2, Trump told the New York Post he would not rule out sending ground troops into Iran if necessary.
“I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground — like every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it,” Trump told the Post in one of several brief interviews he has given since launching the Iran operation on Saturday.
“I say ‘probably don’t need them,’ [or] ‘If they were necessary,'” he said.
US House backs Trump’s Iran war, rejects war powers resolution
US House lawmakers rejected a war powers resolution to halt Trump’s attack on Iran in a 212-219 vote, a day after the Senate voted down a similar measure.
Trump on Iran’s next Supreme Leader
Days after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s killing in the US-Israel strikes created a leadership vacuum in the country, US President Donald Trump said Thursday he should have a role in choosing Iran’s next supreme leader.
He told the American news website Axios that he needs to be personally involved in selecting Iran’s next leader — just as he was in Venezuela.
Trump ruled out Mojtaba Khamenei, a front-runner to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” the president said in an interview with Axios.
‘We want to go in and…’
Later, Trump told NBC News he wants to see Iran’s leadership structure fully removed and that he has some names in mind for a “good leader.”
“We want to go in and clean out everything,” Trump told NBC News in a phone call. “We don’t want someone who would rebuild over a 10-year period.
“We want them to have a good leader. We have some people who I think would do a good job,” he added, declining to name anyone.
Trump also said he is taking steps to make sure the people on his list make it through the war alive.
“We are watching them, yes,” he said.
When asked who will lead Iran next, Trump replied, “I don’t know, but at some point they’ll be calling me to ask who I’d like,” adding that he was “only being a little sarcastic when I say that.”
