Trump Claims No One Wants to Lead Iran, Fears US Assassination

Trump, while delivering remarks at the NRCC Annual Fundraising Dinner, said that there has never been a head of a country who wanted that job less than being the head of Iran.

"We settled 8 wars. We are winning another one. Nobody has seen anything like what we are doing in the Middle East with Iran. They are negotiating, by the way. They want to make a deal so badly, but they are afraid to say it because they figure they will be killed by their own people. They are also afraid they will be killed by us. There has never been a head of a country who wanted that job less than being the head of Iran."

US President Donald Trump also pointed out the reasons for exiting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a 2015 agreement between Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Russia, UK, US + Germany) and the EU, which he ended, citing Iran not honouring the deal.

"I said we are going to have to do something about Iran because they are going to have a nuclear weapon very soon, and they are crazy. We have to stop them. And I say, well, we are going to take a big hit. We're going to go through this certain route, and we will get right back here, but we have to go and stop them. Every President should have done it. Obama should have done it. Obama gave them the absolute right title and interest, gave everything to Iran. When Bibi Netanyahu came over and begged him not to do it. He gave Iran the right to have a nuclear weapon at the highest level within a very short period of time. I terminated that agreement as soon as I came to office," Trump said while pointing out that if they had continued JCPOA, then Iran would have had a nuclear weapon by now.

Trump also recalled the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, whom he called an "evil man". Soleimani was an Iranian major general and commander of the Quds Force.

"We did many things. Taking out Soleimani was very important. He was an evil man. But that was a big event we took out in my first term. We took out Soleimani, and they never had leadership that could compete with that. He was an evil guy, but he was a real leader, and he was a very tough general. Under our leadership, America is also highly respected again. Perhaps we are now respected like never before. I don't think we have ever been as respected now," he said.

Soleimani was assassinated in a targeted drone strike ordered by US President Donald Trump on 3 January 2020 in Baghdad, Iraq.

Meanwhile, Speaker of Iran's Parliament, MB Ghalibaf, said that they have received reports of enemy countries preparing to occupy one of Iran's islands. He further said that Iran is monitoring all enemy movements.

In a post on X, he said, "Based on some intelligence reports, Iran's enemies are preparing to occupy one of the Iranian islands with support from one of the regional countries. Our forces are monitoring all enemy movements, and if they take any step, all the vital infrastructure of that regional country will be targeted with relentless, unceasing attacks."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the US has failed to achieve its key war objectives against Iran, including securing a quick military victory and bringing about regime change in Tehran, as reported by Al Jazeera.

The Pentagon had earlier ordered that some 2,000 more soldiers from the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division move to the Middle East from their North Carolina base, as per Al Jazeera.

That's in addition to two Marine Expeditionary Units already en route from opposite sides of the Pacific: The Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group moving in from Japan. The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group en route from San Diego.

- ANI