From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 16, 2026
Trump: If you believe Iran should not have a nuke, you have to love what I’ve done
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US President Donald Trump says the current war with Iran was necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“If you believe that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon, they should not have it, then you have to absolutely love what I’ve done,” Trump tells reporters in the Oval Office.
He claims that Iran would have used a nuclear weapon first against Israel and then the rest of the Middle East had he not struck the Islamic Republic’s nuclear sites last year.
He asserts that Iran “unexpectedly” decided to fire at its Arab neighbors in retaliation to the ongoing Israeli and US strikes. Iran had long warned — including days before the strikes began — that it would ensure any war launched against it would turn into a regional war.
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