Trump: Israel won’t bomb Iran if we make a deal with Tehran

US President Donald Trump says he would prefer to make a deal with Iran rather than “bombing the hell out of it,” adding that Israel would not carry out a strike if there was an agreement.

“I would like a deal done with Iran on non-nuclear. I would prefer that to bombing the hell out of it,” he tells the New York Post. “They don’t want to die. Nobody wants to die.”

“If we made the deal, Israel wouldn’t bomb them,” he says.

The US president says he will not discuss potential negotiations with Tehran.

“In a way, I don’t like telling you what I’m going to tell them. You know, it’s not nice,” he says. “I could tell what I have to tell them, and I hope they decide that they’re not going to do what they’re currently thinking of doing. And I think they’ll really be happy.”

Last week Trump denied the United States and Israel plan to carry out a military strike on Iran, instead saying he wants to make a new nuclear deal with Tehran and that work on the potential pact should start immediately.