‘Total obliteration': Trump likens Iran strike to Hiroshima

Perth Now

5 hours ago

US President Donald Trump has likened the recent strike on Iran's nuclear facilities to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, claiming it marked the end of hostilities between Iran and Israel.
'That hit ended the war,' Mr Trump said while speaking at the NATO Summit in The Hague.
'I don't want to use an example of Hiroshima, I don't want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing that ended that war.'
The President said the US acted swiftly and decisively.
'We hear it was obliteration. It was a virtual obliteration. When you take a look at the ground above … if you look at the before and the after picture, everything above is burned black, the trees, everything,' he said.
'I believe it was total obliteration. I believe they didn't have a chance to get anything out because we acted fast. It would have taken Iran two weeks, maybe. But it's very hard to remove that kind of material, very hard and very dangerous for them to remove it.'
Mr Trump claimed the strike had successfully deterred further escalation in the region.
'The other team, the other group — Iran — said, 'let's stop this',' he said.
'They're (Iran and Israel) not going to be fighting each other. They've had it.'
He also praised Israel for holding back after what he described as a ceasefire violation. 'I'm so proud of Israel for not doing anything after the violation,' he said. 'They technically were right (to respond)… but I asked them not to, and they didn't.'
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called the strike an 'overwhelming success' and confirmed that the FBI was investigating the source of leaked intelligence used in media reports. He said the documents were 'very preliminary' and the leak was 'politically motivated.'
Separately, Mr Trump welcomed NATO's announcement that members would increase defence spending to five per cent of GDP — a move he has long urged.
'I've been asking them to go up to five per cent for a number of years, and they're going up to five per cent,' he said.
'That's a big (jump) from two per cent, and a lot of people didn't even pay the two per cent, so I think that's going to be very big news.'
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles, representing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the Netherlands summit, is not expected to meet with Mr Trump during his short visit.
As of Wednesday (AEST), Mr Marles had no scheduled talks with Mr Trump administration officials, instead holding meetings with counterparts from Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea.
Government sources did not rule out a potential meeting between Mr Marles and Mr Hegseth, depending on whether the US Defence Secretary leaves the summit early with the President.
More to come.