US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would not use a nuclear weapon in the war against Iran.
"Why would I use a nuclear weapon? We've totally, in a very conventional way, decimated them without it," Trump told reporters at the White House when asked whether he would use such a weapon.
"No, I wouldn't use it. A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody," he added.
Asked how long he was willing to wait for a long-term peace deal with Iran, Trump said, "Don't rush me."
He said Iran might have loaded up their weaponry "a little bit" during the two-week ceasefire, but added that the US military could knock that out in about one day.
"Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone, their anti-aircraft is gone ...maybe they loaded up a little bit during the two-week hiatus, but we'll knock that out about one day, if they did," Trump added.
"I want to make the best deal. I could make a deal right now ... but I don't want to do that. I want to have it everlasting," Trump said.
Earlier, Trump said a deal with Iran will only be made when it is "appropriate and good" for the United States. He posted the statement on his personal social media website Truth Social, adding that he is "possibly the least pressured person ever to be in this position. I have all the time in the World, but Iran doesn’t — The clock is ticking!"
Trump's comments come as Iran flaunted its tightened grip over the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday with video of its commandos storming a huge cargo ship, after the collapse of peace talks that Washington had hoped would open the world's most important shipping corridor.
