Comparing US Iran strike to Hiroshima, Trump plays down intelligence report, World News
THE HAGUE - US President Donald Trump compared the impact of American strikes on Iranian nuclear sites to the end of World War Two on Wednesday (June 25), arguing that the damage was severe even though available intelligence reports were inconclusive.
His comments followed reports by Reuters and other media outlets on Tuesday revealing that the US Defence Intelligence Agency had assessed that the strikes had set back Iran's nuclear programme by just a few months, despite Trump and administration officials saying it had been obliterated.
"The intelligence was ... very inconclusive," Trump told reporters at a Nato summit on Wednesday while meeting with Secretary General Mark Rutte.
"The intelligence says, 'We don't know, it could have been very severe.' That's what the intelligence says. So I guess that's correct, but I think we can take the 'we don't know.' It was very severe. It was obliteration."
The Trump administration has not disputed that the DIA assessment exists, but Trump described it as preliminary.
In a series of at-times testy exchanges at a press conference later in the day, Trump sharply criticised journalists for their reporting on the assessment.
He suggested the reports were an attack against the pilots who flew the bombing mission over the weekend targeting Iran's key nuclear sites.
Trump said the US strikes were responsible for ending the war between Israel and Iran.
"When you look at Hiroshima, if you look at Nagasaki, that ended a war, too," Trump said, referring to a pair of US nuclear strikes on Japan in 1945 that essentially ended World War II. "This ended a war in a different way." Success of Iran strikes crucial for Trump
Trump has an uneasy relationship with the US intelligence community, and the success of the strikes is politically critical to him.
His right-leaning supporters had argued loudly beforehand that such military intervention was inconsistent with Trump's domestic-focused Make America Great Again agenda and his promise to avoid foreign entanglements.
Trump has countered by insisting that Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon - a goal that an accurate, decisive attack would support.
[[nid:719454]]
He was flanked at both appearances by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, who also cast doubt on the reliability of the DIA assessment. Hegseth in particular cast much of his fury at the news media.
"When you actually look at the report - by the way, it was a top secret report - it was preliminary, it was low-confidence," Hegseth said in the appearance alongside Rutte. "This is a political motive here."
He said the FBI was investigating a potential leak. Rubio suggested that those responsible for sharing the report had mischaracterised it, saying: "This is the game they play."
At the summit, Nato member states announced their joint intention to raise defence spending to 5 per cent of gross domestic product, which the Trump administration pointed to as a significant foreign policy victory.
At the concluding press conference, Trump referenced a statement from the Israel Atomic Energy Commission - that country's nuclear regulator - assessing that Iran's nuclear programme had been set back by "many years."
He said the US plans to meet with the Iranians next week to discuss next steps regarding their nuclear programme, but he said he did not think Iran would want to get back into "the nuclear business" after the strikes.
[[nid:719458]]
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AsiaOne
19 minutes ago
- AsiaOne
China, Taiwan clash over history, Beijing says can't 'invade' what is already Chinese territory
BEIJING/TAIPEI — China and Taiwan clashed over their competing interpretations of history in an escalating war of words over what Beijing views as provocations from Taiwan's government, and said it is impossible to "invade" what is already Chinese land. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has stepped up military and political pressure over the past five years. China has an especial dislike of Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te, calling him a "separatist". Lai has since Sunday (June 22) given two speeches in what will be a series of 10 on "uniting the country", saying that Taiwan is "of course a country" and China has no legal or historical right to claim it. Speaking on Wednesday at a regular news briefing in Beijing, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said any "independence provocations" from Lai and his administration will face "resolute countermeasures". "Though the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have not yet been fully reunified, the historical and legal fact that compatriots on both sides belong to one China and that both sides' compatriots are Chinese has never changed," she said. Tensions between China and Taiwan, including several rounds of Chinese war games, have raised the possibility Beijing may one day make good on threats to take Taiwan by force which could ignite a regional war. China's last war games were in April, and its air force and navy operate around Taiwan on a daily basis, sometimes using dozens of warplanes, according to the island's defence ministry. Asked about US comments on Chinese drills strengthening preparations for an attack, Zhu corrected the reporter. "Taiwan is a part of China; there is no invasion to speak of," she said. Lai takes a different view on Taiwan's status and future. In a speech late on Tuesday, he said Taiwan's future can only be decided by its people, democratically, not by a decision by any party or president, and that "Taiwan independence" refers to the island not being a part of the People's Republic of China. The defeated Republic of China, founded after the 1911 revolution that brought down the last emperor, fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists, and that remains the island's formal name. "How old is the Republic of China? It's 113 years old, and will be 114 years old this year. The People's Republic of China? It's only some 70 years old, right? It's simple and clear," Lai said. This year's 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two is another sensitive topic, and China has invited old soldiers who fought for the Republic of China to a military parade in Beijing in early September. Taiwan does not want them to attend, and on Wednesday its defence minister, Wellington Koo, said Beijing was trying to distort history. "The war of resistance was led and won by the Republic of China, not the People's Republic of China — this is without a doubt," he told reporters at parliament.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
China takes action on key US fentanyl demands
BEIJING: China has taken a series of actions in the past week on counter-narcotics, in a sign of cooperation with US demands for stronger action on the synthetic opioid fentanyl, a key irritant in the bilateral relationship. US President Donald Trump imposed 20 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports in February over Beijing's alleged failure to curb the flow of precursor chemicals for fentanyl, which has caused nearly 450,000 US overdose deaths. Those tariffs have remained in effect despite a fragile trade truce reached in Geneva in May. Beijing has defended its drug control record and accused Washington of using fentanyl to "blackmail" China. Both sides were in a stalemate over the issue for months, despite China sending its vice public security minister to the Geneva talks. China has balked at some of Washington's demands, which include publicising the crackdown on precursors on the front page of the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily, educating Party members and tightening regulation of specific chemicals, among other actions. On Thursday, China's State Security Ministry accused a "certain country" of "deliberately launching unwarranted attacks on China over the fentanyl issue", in a veiled swipe at the US But last Friday, Beijing added two precursors to a list of controlled chemicals starting Jul 20, according to a government statement. The chemicals, 4-piperidone and 1-boc-4-piperidone, were "considered fundamental to resolving the fentanyl issue," raising hopes that the 20 per cent tariffs could be eventually lifted, according to a source familiar with US government thinking. The move came after US Ambassador David Perdue had a rare meeting with China's Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong last Thursday in Beijing, at which Wang expressed willingness to work with Washington on drug control, according to a Chinese statement. China's Foreign Ministry said the action on precursors was an "independent measure" taken by Beijing in line with the UN Drug Convention and "demonstrates China's attitude of actively participating in global drug governance". Working-level conversations on fentanyl remain ongoing and Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the topic in a Jun 5 phone call. Chinese immigration officials seized 2.42 tonnes of drugs and arrested 262 suspects for drug smuggling so far this year, state media reported Thursday, as Beijing vowed to crack down on drug trafficking and "intensify anti-drug propaganda" in border areas and ports. In addition, Chinese officials announced on Wednesday they had prosecuted more than 1,300 people and arrested over 700 more nationwide for drug-related money laundering offences between January and May this year, a 2.1 per cent year-on-year increase. Beijing will "cut off the criminal interest chain and destroy the economic foundation of drug crimes," Miao Shengming, a senior official at the Supreme People's Procuratorate said during a press conference. On Monday, a court in the southeastern province of Fujian handed a suspended death sentence to former drug control official Liu Yuejin for bribery, state media reported. Liu, a former director of the Ministry of Public Security's narcotics control bureau, was convicted of illegally receiving bribes worth over 121 million yuan (US$17 million) between 1992 and 2020. The US Embassy in Beijing did not respond to a request for comment. The Chinese government statements did not mention the US. Chinese scholars acknowledge that fentanyl's central position in the US-China trade war comes with a lot of political baggage for Beijing. "The US views the fentanyl issue as a sign of poor governance on China's part and has exerted pressure on China as a result, politicising the issue of drug control," said Liu Weidong, a US-China expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
Asia: Stocks down with eyes on Mideast, dollar hit by Trump Fed comment
[HONG KONG] Most stocks fell on Thursday and oil rose as traders kept a nervous eye on the Iran-Israel ceasefire, while the dollar dropped after Donald Trump said he had a handful of candidates to succeed Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell, fuelling rate cut bets. Uncertainty over the US president's trade war was also keeping sentiment subdued, with most countries still not reaching deals with Washington to avert the reimposition of steep tariffs ahead of a July 9 deadline. With a shaky peace between Iran and Israel holding for now, Trump said he would hold nuclear talks with Tehran next week, even after insisting that US strikes had set its atomic programme back 'decades'. 'We may sign an agreement. I don't know,' he told reporters. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had said Tuesday his country was willing to return to negotiations but that it would continue to 'assert its legitimate rights' to the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Crude prices, which tanked Monday and Tuesday after the ceasefire was announced, edged up for a second day, though gains were capped by the possibility that Opec and other key producers will lift output. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up 'While the Israel-Iran conflict is now de-escalating, we still believe that geopolitical risks remain where the ceasefire could easily fall apart,' wrote Kai Wang, Asia equity market strategist at Morningstar. 'While this possibility remains elevated, we do not believe that there would be a restriction on oil supply even under a re-escalating scenario. Given that oil has retreated to preconflict price levels, we believe that any future increase in oil price is likely to be short-lived.' Equity markets were mostly down, with Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Seoul, Jakarta and Wellington in the red but Tokyo and Taipei in positive territory. That came after a tepid lead from Wall Street, where the Nasdaq was the standout after chip titan Nvidia shot up more than four per cent to a record high, giving it a market valuation of around US$3.76 trillion. That makes it more valuable than Microsoft, Apple and other tech giants. The dollar held losses after Trump's latest salvo against Powell and suggestion that he was already lining up his replacement. Since returning to the White House the president has constantly hit out at the Fed boss for not cutting rates, questioning his intelligence and stoking worries about the bank's independence. 'I know within three or four people who I'm going to pick,' he told reporters after a Nato summit. 'I mean he goes out pretty soon fortunately because I think he's terrible,' Trump said of Powell, whose term ends in May next year. Trump added that Powell was 'average mentally' and had 'low IQ for what he does'. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Republican was considering making an announcement in September or October, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, economic adviser Kevin Hassett and former Fed governor Kevin Warsh among the contenders. Trump's remarks came days after Powell told lawmakers the bank needed to see the impact of the president's tariffs on the economy before making a move. 'Trump's nomination will amp up the pressure, to the point where we could have a shadow Fed chair before Powell steps down in May next year,' said National Australia Bank's Rodrigo Catril. 'We think it's fair to suggest that the pressure on Powell to cut rates will increase, and that's adding to selling pressure on the dollar.' AFP
