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Trump Warns Iran: ‘We’ll Be Back’ if Regime Restarts Nuclear Program
US President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, June 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard
US President Donald Trump said this week that the United States had “wiped out” Iran’s capacity to produce a nuclear weapon with its recent bombing of Iranian nuclear sites and suggested there could be further military action if Iran moved to restart its nuclear program.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Trump did not directly respond to questions about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent suggestion that Israel could launch a full military occupation of the Gaza Strip. Instead, he emphasized what he described as his administration’s success in reshaping the regional security landscape.
“We have stopped wars in the Middle East by stopping Iran from having a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “As soon as they start, we’ll be back.”
In June, the US military bombed three key Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel.
“We wiped out their nuclear capacity for weapons,” Trump said. “They would have had a weapon within two months, maybe less, and that was totally obliterated.”
The US president credited the US military, noting the use of B2 bombers and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles. “That was a big threat. That was a nuclear threat,” he said.
The degree to which Iran’s nuclear program was set back has been a subject of much debate, with some experts arguing the damage from the US strikes was not as extensive as Trump has claimed and warning that Iran can quickly regain the ability to enrich large amounts of uranium at levels approaching weapons-grade.
On Thursday, Trump expanded on his comments in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, writing, “Now that the nuclear arsenal being ‘created’ by Iran has been totally obliterated, it is very important to me that all Middle Eastern countries join the Abraham Accords.”
“This will insure peace in the Middle East,” he added, using a misspelling of “ensure.”
The Abraham Accords are a series of US-brokered agreements during the first Trump administration that normalized ties between Israel and several Arab countries.
In recent days, Trump has faced renewed questions over whether he supports a full Israeli military occupation of Gaza, a prospect that has been debated among leaders in Israel.
Asked on Tuesday whether he would back such a move, Trump said he was not familiar with the proposal and offered no position.
“I can’t really say. It will be up to Israel,” he said.
Instead, Trump focused on humanitarian aid, pointing to a recently announced $60 million assistance package for Gaza. He said both Israeli and Arab governments would be involved in distributing food and other support, characterizing his priority as addressing “humanitarian needs in the region.”
Then on Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel intends to take full military control of Gaza to secure its borders until it can hand governance of the enclave over to Arab authorities, vowing to “liberate” the Palestinians of Gaza from the ruling terrorist group Hamas.
Axios reported hours later that Trump does not oppose the plan, citing anonymous US and Israeli officials.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.