U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Iran will eventually be forced to reach an agreement, comparing the pace of negotiations to the Vietnam War by saying, “Vietnam lasted 19 years. I’m only in my third month, and all they say is, ‘Wow, when are you going to win?'”
Speaking to NBC News, Trump stated that the reason the Iranian leadership has not yet reached an agreement with the United States to end the conflict is because they are “strong and proud.” Nevertheless, he argued that Iran would ultimately have no choice but to make a deal:
“They are strong and proud. They will have to do things they normally would not think of doing. They have no other option, and this process takes some time.”
Commenting on the speed of negotiations, Trump said, “These kinds of matters can take years,” and compared the process to the Vietnam War:
“I’m moving pretty fast. I’ve only been involved in this for three months. You know, Vietnam lasted 19 years. I’m in my third month, and all they do is say, ‘Wow, when are you going to win?’ If I were a Democrat, nobody would be talking like that, but it doesn’t matter to me. I’m very used to it.”
Trump also commented on Iran’s military capabilities, claiming that the United States had “completely destroyed” Iran’s military forces. He said:
“Most of the drone factories, most of the launch sites, and most of the missile production facilities have been put out of operation. However, they still retain some capability. They still have some missiles and some drones. Percentage-wise, I’d say they have maybe 21–22 percent of their missiles left. That’s still a large number of missiles, but it’s nothing like what they had when we first struck.”