President Donald Trump issued a clarification Wednesday evening, saying he did not assert that Iran deserves to retain missiles, but rather argued that it is difficult to deny Iran such capabilities when other countries possess them. The remark, reported by Israeli media, refines comments he made earlier in the day regarding Iran's missile arsenal, though it remains consistent with his broader position that a negotiated deal — not continued strikes — is the preferred path forward.
President Donald Trump issued a clarification Wednesday evening, just before 22:00 Jerusalem, refining his earlier remarks about Iran's missile capabilities. A message attributed to Trump — reported via Israeli media — shows the president pushing back against any interpretation that he believes Iran is entitled to missiles. Instead, he argued pragmatically that as long as other nations retain missile arsenals, it is inconsistent to deny Iran equal capacity. This clarification comes within hours of a rapid sequence of statements from Trump on the matter, reported by The Zioneer in multiple successive bulletins beginning at 19:32 Jerusalem and continuing through 21:06 Jerusalem.
The public back-and-forth began when Trump, in an exchange with journalists around 19:32 Jerusalem, appeared to suggest that Iran could keep some remaining missiles because the US had already destroyed an estimated 84–85% of its arsenal, with the rest buried and inaccessible, and separately argued that Iran should retain ballistic missiles because regional states like Saudi Arabia also possess them. Trump also dismissed calls for continued bombing of Iran as 'stupid' and said Syria's Abu Mohammad al-Julani (HTS) would handle Hezbollah more surgically than Israel. In a later bulletin at 21:06 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported the same 84-85% destruction figure but emphasized that the remark did not amount to a confirmed policy shift. The new clarification, arriving roughly an hour after that, now explicitly distances Trump from any claim of entitlement.
The evolving positions come as the US-Iran nuclear understanding appears near signing, and amid ongoing US airstrikes on Iranian positions, proximity talks with Tehran, and a parallel campaign against Iran-backed proxies in Lebanon and Yemen, as The Zioneer has reported in the context of Trump's recent statements on Iran, Hezbollah, and the Israeli campaign.
No official White House transcript of the clarification was immediately released, and the precise audience or venue for the remark remains unnamed. It is also not yet clear whether this represents the president's final word on the matter or whether further clarifications may follow.
14 developments
- DevelopingTrump warns of commando strike on Iran if nuclear deal collapses
- DevelopingTrump: Bombing Iran 'will probably happen' if they don't abide by deal
- DevelopingVP Vance: some people 'just want bombing to continue,' regardless of results for Americans
- DevelopingTrump, angered, says Iran is 'stalling' nuclear deal, threatens immediate attack
Source and signal
- Internal intake