President Donald Trump said the U.S. is “not stopping” strikes on Iran and continued to express frustrations over negotiations, though said “we want” to secure a deal.
In a phone interview with Real America Voice, Trump insisted that the U.S. is in a “strong position” and that Iran’s military is “destroyed.”
“We hit them very hard. They ask us not to do it, and they want to negotiate. We start negotiating. In the midst of a negotiation, they fire five rockets at us. We knock all of them down, and then we beat the hell out of them, like last night,” Trump said. “We beat the hell out of them. And we’re not stopping, either.”
The interview aired Friday afternoon, but it appears to have been pre-taped at some point on Thursday.
Regarding the number of U.S. servicemember deaths, Trump said there the death toll could vary “depending on definitions.” This comes after the Pentagon revised its Iran war casualty figures database last week and reduced the number of U.S. troops listed as killed.
“With Iran, we’re at 16 [American deaths], depending on definitions. We’re at 16, 18 people, which is far too many, because one is too many,” Trump said, before pivoting to compare the Iran war’s duration with previous military conflicts.
-ABC News’ Emily Chang and Michelle Stoddart
