Former US President Donald Trump warned that if Iran has nuclear weapons, then Israel will be gone.
In an extended Sunday interview with Fox News, Trump blamed the administration of Democratic US President Joe Biden for its perceived leniency towards Tehran, arguing that this policy allowed Tehran to receive funds, which it used to support terrorist organizations.
He then hinted that Iran was behind the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
Trump also criticized the US involvement in the Middle East, noting that it was wrong to remove Saddam Hussein in Iraq because he was Iran's number one enemy.
The current Republican presidential nominee said that during his term, Iran didn't have the money to support terrorist organizations.
He said Iran now has $300 billion after the country increased its oil sales over the past three years.
Trump said he took strong measures against Tehran during his presidential term. “People couldn't buy oil from them. I didn't let them.”
The former president then reiterated: “I am not looking to be enemies with Iran, but they can't have nuclear weapons. You simply cannot allow them to have nuclear weapons. But I will say this: if they have nuclear weapons, Israel is gone. It will be gone.”
Trump noted the strong ties between the United States and Israel, stressing that the Jewish lobby was the strongest in America and no one could attack Israel.
He said Israel is under tremendous pressure right now. “Look at (Democratic Party representative) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, look at (Senate Majority Leader Chuck) Schumer, he's become a Palestinian, he's become a (Hamas) agent and I'm wondering, Schumer, how did this happen.”
Iran has avoided a direct confrontation with Israel despite threats of retaliation for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last July.
Meanwhile, there were back channel diplomatic talks in which Iran has expressed its desire to reach a serious agreement with the Western powers on its nuclear program.
Trump had pulled the United States out of the international nuclear deal with Iran in 2018. The other signatories, the UK, China, France, Russia and Germany, remained part of it.
Since then, Iran has expanded its stockpile of enriched uranium, beyond the limit set in its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Iran's enriched uranium stockpile already contains sufficient uranium to fuel three or four nuclear warheads with further enrichment, according to the latest assessment by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Experts say if Trump returns to the White House, he will continue to exercise a strategy of maximum pressure on Iran.
Trump repeatedly said he could have prevented the October 7 attacks if he were president. However, he does not rule out seeking a new agreement with Iran but with strong and decisive terms.
