President Donald Trump defended his administration’s approach to Iran during a wide-ranging exchange with reporters at Wednesday’s NATO summit, arguing that U.S. actions have weakened Tehran while also suggesting he could be a target for assassination by the Iranian regime.
The remarks came after a reporter asked the president whether his Iran policy had reached what was described as a “strategic dead end.”
Trump immediately rejected the premise of the question, insisting the administration’s efforts have been successful and accusing the media of presenting a misleading picture of the conflict.
“The fake news likes to say how well they’re doing,” Trump said of Iran. “They’re doing terribly.”
The president pointed to what he described as severe economic problems inside Iran, claiming inflation has surged dramatically since the conflict began.
“They have 350 percent inflation,” Trump said. “When the war started, they had like 6 percent, 5 percent.”
Trump also maintained that Iran wants to negotiate but has failed to do so effectively.
“They want to make a deal, but they don’t know how to make the deal,” he said, while criticizing Tehran for attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
“And then they go around shooting ships at night. I don’t like that,” Trump added.
The president highlighted members of his administration who have been involved in discussions with Iran, naming Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
“They are dealing with very fine people,” Trump said before adding that he believes Iranian leaders have behaved irrationally.
“I think they’re a little loco, they’re a little crazy,” he remarked.
Trump also criticized Iran for expressing interest in attending the funeral of a figure he said was responsible for killing many people.
“Khomeini killed a lot of people over the years,” Trump said.
He argued that the United States should have confronted Iran decades ago, saying action could have been taken at any point over the past 47 years.
“What we did should have been done 47 years ago,” he said, describing Iran as having once been “the bully of the Middle East.”
Trump asserted that recent military operations had dramatically weakened Iran’s defenses.
“In one day, all of their anti-aircraft things are gone,” he said. “Everything’s gone.”
He also claimed repeated strikes had eliminated multiple generations of Iranian leadership.
“Their leaders are gone,” Trump said. “They had leaders—they’re gone. Then they had another set of leaders—they’re gone. Now they have another set of leaders, they may be gone too. Who knows?”
It was during that discussion that Trump suggested he could become a target himself.
“And you know what? I may be going too, because I’m their number one target,” the president said.
“It’s out all over the place—I’m number one, because they’re scum. That’s the way they act, and that’s the way they’ve done it for 47 years.”
Trump said he believes his actions are necessary both for the United States and the broader international community.
“I’m doing what’s right for the country,” he said. “I’m really doing what’s right for the world. They have to be stopped.”
The president also praised the U.S. military’s performance and defended the effectiveness of the administration’s blockade strategy.
“Our military has been incredible,” he said.
Trump then shifted to Venezuela, describing that conflict as “a one-day war” and stating that Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro had been removed from power and was “in jail waiting for trial.”
From there, Trump pivoted to immigration, criticizing former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris over border security.
He accused the previous administration of allowing criminals into the United States through an open-border policy before claiming his administration had reversed the situation.
“The border was a disaster,” Trump said. “Now it’s fixed.”
He concluded by insisting illegal crossings at the southern border have been eliminated.
“I don’t like these numbers being doubted,” Trump said. “Zero people come in through our southern border. Zero.”
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