21 August,2026 01:44 PM IST | Washington | mid-day online correspondent
Donald Trump. Pic/AFP
US President Donald Trump has said the United States is "essentially controlling" strategic waterways linked to Iran and will soon take full control of them, while reiterating that Tehran will not be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon.
In an interview with his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, broadcast by 77 WABC Radio, Trump defended his military actions against Iran and acknowledged that the conflict could lead to higher energy and petrol costs for American consumers.
"Now with Iran, they will never have a nuclear weapon," Trump said in the interview. "We've, we're controlling, essentially controlling and soon controlling the Straits. We're doing very well with Iran."
Trump did not identify the waterways by name in the portion of the interview released on Wednesday.
Trump claimed that Iran's navy, air force and leadership had been severely weakened, making negotiations more difficult.
"Part of the problem is so many of the leaders are gone. It's not easy to make a deal. Nobody knows who's leading," Trump said.
He argued that the cost of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons could include higher energy prices for Americans.
"And I tell them, they'll be, uh, a little higher for your energy cost, but they'll be a little bit higher for gasoline," Trump said. "But we have to make a journey to the Middle East because we can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon."
The US President claimed that Iran had been "militarily wiped out" and had lost a significant portion of its ability to produce missiles and drones.
He also pointed to high inflation, a weakened currency and unpaid military personnel as signs that Tehran was facing growing pressure.
"The reason I did it, and we had no choice, and I would've done it again a hundred times, they cannot have a nuclear weapon, and they won't be having a nuclear weapon," he said.
Trump also defended the use of B-2 bombers against Iranian nuclear facilities, saying the operation was carried out deep at night and that every bomb hit its intended target.
Trump claimed Iran was close to acquiring a nuclear weapon when the US carried out strikes on its nuclear facilities.
"When we hit them with the B-2 bombers, they were exactly two weeks away from having a nuclear weapon," he said. "And that's why I had to do it, because you cannot let them have that kind of a weapon."
Trump argued that Iran could have used nuclear weapons against Israel and other countries in the Middle East if it had acquired them.
He named Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain among countries that he said had been targeted by Iranian missiles.
"There would be no Israel if there was no Donald Trump," he said, adding: "I believe the Middle East would have been entirely wiped out, but Israel definitely would have been wiped out."
During the interview, Trump also discussed Venezuela, immigration, tariffs and the US economy.
He claimed that his tariff policies were encouraging companies to bring automobile, semiconductor, pharmaceutical and medical equipment manufacturing back to the United States.
Trump described the resulting investment and construction activity as "a renaissance".
The interview was conducted by Cohen, who served for years as Trump's personal lawyer and fixer before their relationship broke down publicly.
Cohen later testified against Trump and became one of his most prominent critics.
(With inputs from IANS)
