Donald Trump says Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf states asked him to hold off on further large-scale attacks on Iran, and that he would otherwise have carried them out. He made the remarks in an interview with Stephen A. Smith at the White House on Thursday 12 November, the same day he posted that the US does not need a deal with Iran.
"Saudi Arabia has asked me to please just let it be the way it is now for a while"
Asked whether he would have launched further attacks without those requests, Trump replied: "Yes, I would." Of the Gulf states' preference, he said: "I'm not sure I agree with it."
"In one day their energy is gone. In one day their bridges are gone. And in one day their manufacturing capability is gone. It would only take me three days"
Trump named Saudi Arabia and said Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE and Bahrain also prefer the current approach, Iran International and Al Jazeera report. Israel National News reports he also named Israel among the countries whose preferences he is weighing.
The account of the Gulf requests is Trump's own and has not been independently checked. His claims in the same interview that Iran has "more than" 300 per cent inflation and that its navy, air force and anti-aircraft capability are "gone" are also unverified.