US President Donald Trump on Thursday called the possibility of a ground invasion by US and Israeli forces in Iran a “waste of time”, responding to comments made earlier by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Abbas Araghchi told NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas that his country is prepared for a ground invasion by US and Israeli forces. Araghchi struck a defiant tone and said, “…we are waiting for them… Because we are sure we can face them and that would be a great disaster for them.”
Trump called Araghchi’s remark an “unnecessary comment” and indicated that a ground invasion was not contemplated at this time.
Trump told NBC News in a phone call: “It’s a waste of time. They’ve lost everything. They’ve lost the Navy. They’ve lost everything they could lose.” He added that the pace and intensity of the strikes will continue.
His latest comment appears to contradict his earlier view on the possibility of a ground invasion of Iran.
On March 2, Trump told the New York Post that he would not rule out sending ground troops to Iran if necessary.
“I don’t have the yips when it comes to boots on the ground — as every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I’m not saying that,” Trump told the Post in one of several brief interviews he has given since the operation in Iran began on Saturday.
“I say ‘I probably don’t need them’ (or) ‘if they were necessary,'” he said.
US House backs Trump’s war on Iran, rejects war powers resolution
The US House of Representatives rejected a war powers resolution to stop Trump’s attack on Iran by a vote of 212-219, a day after the Senate voted down a similar measure.
Trump on Iran’s next supreme leader
Days after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes created a leadership vacuum in the country, Donald Trump said Thursday that he should play a role in choosing Iran’s next supreme leader.
He told US news website Axios that he had to get personally involved in choosing Iran’s next leader – just as he had in Venezuela.
Trump ruled out Mojtaba Khamenei, the front-runner to succeed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone who 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 that he wanted Iran’s leadership structure to be completely removed and that he had some names in mind for a “good leader.”
“We want to go in and clean everything up,” Trump told NBC News on the phone. “We don’t want someone rebuilding in 10 years. We want him to have a good leader. We have a couple of people who I think would do a good job,” he added, declining to name anyone.
Trump also said he was taking steps to make sure people on his list made it through the war alive. “We’re watching them, yes,” he said.
Asked who would continue to lead Iran, Trump said: “I don’t know, but at some point they’re going to call me to ask who I would like,” adding that he was “just being a little sarcastic when I say that.”
