Washington, June 5 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has said that the United States remains engaged in negotiations with Iran but made clear that any agreement must permanently prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, while signalling confidence that Washington would prevail either diplomatically or militarily.

Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday that nuclear non-proliferation is the central objective of his administration’s approach.

“We’re going to see,” Trump said when asked about ongoing talks with Tehran. “We’re going to win one way or the other. We’re going to win on paper, or we’re going to win military. One way or the other, it’s going to be militarily or on paper.”

The President said the core issue in negotiations remained unchanged.

“The main parts of the deal is they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “The strait will open immediately.”

Trump argued that preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons enjoys broad support.

“You cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “And everybody agrees to that, no matter — almost everybody.”

He contrasted any potential future agreement with the nuclear accord negotiated during the Obama administration.

“Obama picked the wrong country,” Trump said. “The Obama deal, I terminated that, or they would have had a nuclear — that was a road to a nuclear weapon.”

“Our deal, if we make that deal — and it’s going well, but who knows — if we make that deal, it’s the exact opposite. They will not have — they will never have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump also defended previous US military operations against Iranian nuclear facilities, saying they had inflicted severe damage.

“We attacked their nuclear sites, and they were obliterated,” he said. “It turned out that CNN was wrong.”

The President said the facilities remain under close surveillance.

“It’s entombed,” Trump said of the nuclear material. “Every single place on that, on those mountains is three, basically three, because we also hit it with Tomahawks after.”

Asked whether the United States would respond militarily if Iran killed American troops, Trump replied: “If they kill US troops, I think I would do that very quickly.”

The President also suggested that diplomatic engagement with Iran’s new leadership remained possible.

“I don’t want to meet, but if I did meet, I’d be honoured to meet him,” Trump said when asked about the possibility of meeting Iran’s new Supreme Leader. “I’d like to see if we make a deal.”

On regional security, Trump said the United States had sought support from European allies regarding freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz but said Washington could act independently if necessary.

“We don’t need their help,” he said. “We’re the most powerful military in the world.”

Trump’s remarks came amid continued diplomatic efforts to reach a long-term arrangement on Iran’s nuclear programme and regional security issues. The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints, carrying a significant share of global oil shipments.

–IANS

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