U.S. President Donald Trump made statements on the agenda in an interview with the news site Axios. Claiming they completely defeated Iran, Trump said he views the final agreement reached as "unconditional surrender." Noting that unlike previous U.S. administrations, they struck a military blow against Iran and neutralized important figures in the leadership ranks, Trump said, "I killed Ali Khamenei.
And unfortunately, I injured his son Mojtaba Khamenei; and let me tell you, I haven't met him, I haven't spoken to him, but people were talking about him. However, he also has a certain courage because he is gravely wounded."
'Even Iran, even the Khameneis, all of them feared Soleimani'
Reminding that Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was also killed during his term, Trump said, "Normally we were supposed to do this with Israel.
And when I killed him, Israel pulled out at the last moment, it was actually supposed to be done together with Israel. It was a joint operation. We worked on it for 30 days. He only traveled on commercial passenger planes full of people, because he knew we wouldn't shoot them down."
Characterizing the attack on Soleimani as "flawless," Trump said, "That was one of the greatest moments in Middle East history, because he was the most feared man of the last 100 years. Even Iran, even the Khameneis, all of them feared Soleimani."
'Their navy is at the bottom of the sea'
Trump reiterated the claim that Iran's military capacity was largely destroyed during the last war, saying, "They have no planes left.
They had many, there were 200 of them, all gone. Their navy consisted of 159 ships, right? All at the bottom of the sea." Claiming that regime change de facto occurred with the killing of senior Iranian officials, Trump said, "I dealt with them. They are all gone. Now we are dealing with a third group, which I actually think is the smartest group.
And I actually think this is a regime change." When reminded of the country's religious leader Mojtaba Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is still active in the administration, Trump commented, "These are different people. The son Khamenei is different."
'The stock market rose thousands of points, everyone is richer'
Claiming that Iran is now ruled by a "less radical" group, Trump also responded to criticism about why he did not continue the attacks on Iran. Trump asked, "The only way I could be tougher is to go in there for another two or three weeks and keep bombing them until I destroy them. Right? But what does that gain us?"
Reminding that the stock market soared and oil prices fell with the end of the war, Trump said, "The biggest difference is that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. They will never have nuclear weapons. Okay? That is very clear and very simple."
Emphasizing that if the war continued, maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz would be negatively affected and oil shipments would stop, Trump said, referring to the economic indicators after the deal reached with Iran, "The stock market rose thousands of points. Everyone is richer. Now, would you rather have this or be like some stupid people?"
'Cuba has beautiful land and a beautiful coastline'
Trump stated that he lost respect for some people during the process leading to the deal with Iran, but refrained from naming names. Contenting himself with saying these people were "hawks," Trump said, "Look, let me tell you something. I am not out to kill people."
When reminded of his statements that "after Iran, it will be Cuba's turn," Trump said, "We are flexible on this issue, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio is dealing with this matter in detail. By the way, my entire team, including Marco, is doing a very good job. But Marco's family came from Cuba."
Comparing Cuba to Venezuela, where they carried out a military operation, Trump said, "The difference is that Venezuela has oil, Cuba does not. Cuba has beautiful land and a beautiful coastline."
'Iran must not have a nuclear weapon'
Comparing the military operations against Iran and Venezuela upon a question, Trump said, "I think the Iran operation was, in a way, much bigger, much more powerful than Venezuela in terms of firepower."
Reiterating the claim that the attacks on Iran were a necessity, Trump said, "I had to stop them because if they had a nuclear weapon, they would use it. If not for me, there would be no place called Israel today."
Reminding that he terminated the Iran nuclear deal made during the era of U.S. President Barack Obama, Trump said, "Otherwise, they would have had a nuclear weapon 5 years ago. If you ask me, they would have used it in the first week of the last war too. And Israel would no longer be with us. If I hadn't done this, Israel would have vanished years ago."
Claiming that if they had not struck Iran, the Tehran regime could have used the nuclear weapons it would possess not only against Israel but also against Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain, Trump said, "Because when the war started, I think the thing that surprised me the most was that almost immediately, missiles rained down on these other 5 countries. 'Why are they doing this?' I said. And do you know what this accomplished?
It pushed those 5 countries right into my lap. They were great."
'If I hadn't attacked the nuclear facilities, there would be no place called Israel today'
Trump replied to a question about how his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is, saying, "Good, but we have to make him act a bit more rationally." When asked, "Can you bring Israel's attacks on Lebanon under control?"
Trump responded, "Yes, I can. They have great respect for me and do whatever I say. Remember that. If I had not terminated the Iran nuclear deal made during Obama's time and if I had not attacked Iran's nuclear facilities with B-2 bombers 10 months ago, there would be no place called Israel today."
