Trump rules out the withdrawal of 50,000 US troops until the war against Iran is finally over: “It would be reckless”
US President Donald Trump says he does not intend to withdraw the roughly 50,000 troops deployed for the war against Iran until a definitive resolution to the conflict is reached.
He also says that only after the conclusion of a peace agreement could he accept an easing of sanctions against Iran and release it from its assets blocked abroad by US sanctions.
In an interview with NBC News, which aired on Sunday but was taped on Friday, the US president rejected the idea that US troops stationed in the area for operations against Iran were in danger. “I don't consider them to be in any danger. We have the best defense and the best offense that has ever been seen,” said Donald Trump, according to EFE and Agerpres.
In his opinion, a possible withdrawal, even partial, of this contingent would be a “reckless” decision, as the United States may have to use these troops if negotiations with Iran ultimately fail.
To date, the official death toll among American troops stands at 13 American soldiers killed in incidents directly related to the hostilities launched by the US and Israel on February 28 and interrupted since April 8 by a cease-fire.
“We lost 13 people there, and that's a lot,” Trump admitted. Still, he added, “if you look at (the war that took place in) Vietnam, where hundreds of thousands of people died, or any of the last seven or eight wars (…), we lost 13. It's less than anyone would have imagined.”
If Iran doesn't make a deal, 'we're sending them to hell'
On the other hand, Trump has insisted that he will not unfreeze Iranian assets or lift sanctions on Iran until a peace deal is reached.
“Yes. If (the Iranians) behave well, if they do a good job, we start talking. Yes,” he also indicated.
Iranian negotiators are trying to unlock about $24 billion worth of frozen assets abroad in peace talks with the United States, and officials in Tehran say that is one of Iran's conditions for a deal.
In the same interview, Trump also said he did not want Lebanon to be part of such a deal – which is another condition imposed by Iran – and asked Israel to limit itself to “surgical” strikes in Lebanon against the pro-Iranian Shiite group Hezbollah.
He again claimed that the US and Iran were “very close to an agreement”. But if a deal isn't eventually struck, he further threatened, “I'll send them to hell.”
Trump on Mojtaba Khamenei: “Younger, more rational”
Trump reiterated that he would be willing to talk with Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, whom he described as “younger, more rational.”
In fact, the American president suggested a meeting with him in an interview published on Thursday, after which Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the possibility of such a meeting as unrealistic.
Critically injured after an Israeli bombardment of a compound in Tehran on the first day of the war, Mojtaba Khamenei has never appeared in public or on video since he was named ayatollah on March 8, with only written messages attributed to him. He took the place of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in that Israeli attack.
Negotiations between Iran and the US are being conducted through Pakistan, which has imposed itself as a mediator. This mediation is focused on fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz and finding a solution to Iran's highly enriched uranium, either by removing it from the country (Washington is demanding that it be handed over) or by diluting it. These are key conditions set by the US and Israel for an agreement to end the war waged by these two countries against Iran.
