President Donald Trump told Axios that Iran is in a 'bad state' economically and the US siege is 'doing a very good job,' according to a report by Barak Betesh. Trump compared the negotiations to chess, expressing confidence that 'it will work out.' The remarks elaborate on his earlier statement about lowering the US profile on Iran.
President Donald Trump has provided a further assessment of the US-Iran standoff in an interview with Axios, as reported by journalist Barak Betesh. Trump stated that Iran is in a 'bad state' economically and that the US siege is 'doing a very good job.' He compared the situation to chess, expressing confidence that 'it will work out.'
The remarks expand on a series of statements from the President on Sunday evening. At 19:56 Jerusalem, Trump told journalist Barak Ravid that the United States is lowering its profile regarding Iran. Around the same time, he told Axios that the situation is like chess and predicted it would work out. At 20:02 Jerusalem, Axios further reported that Trump described the talks as 'very partial' and said the US is primarily monitoring Iran's economy.
These latest comments continue a pattern of optimistic assessments from Trump regarding the US-Iran diplomatic track. As The Zioneer has reported, over the past two months Trump has told Fox News that the US has 'good discussions' with Iran (Aug 5), told NBC that Iran retains only 22% of its missile stockpile (Jun 8), and stated that the confrontation is 'going well' (Aug 3). The President has also maintained that the economic blockade remains '100% in place' (Jun 9) and that the existing framework is a preliminary memorandum of understanding (Jun 17).
The exact context and timing of the Axios interview have not been independently confirmed. The President's claims about Iran's economic state and the siege's effectiveness remain unverified by independent sources.
5 developments
- DevelopingTrump: 'We are lowering the profile on Iran, like a chess game' — ynet
- DevelopingTrump says 'good discussions' with Iran in Fox News interview
- DevelopingTrump says Iran's economy 'very bad' in interview with Barak Ravid
- StrongTrump: US has 'a lot of ammunition, many types,' warns of return to fighting if no Iran deal
Source and signal
- Open-source intake