What's next for Iran? "I might have to destroy the rest."

We have been in Iran for seven months and we control everything we wanted to control. "Now we're going to make a decision: do we want to go ahead and just seal the deal so that something like this never happens again," he told reporters in the Oval Office.

Trump estimated that rebuilding Iran after the conflict could take a quarter of a century. He noted that he would prefer to avoid further damage, but did not rule it out.

I would prefer not to destroy the rest of the country if possible, but I may have to. You'll find out soon, he added.

The president defends the head of the Pentagon

The American leader again supported Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. He said the Pentagon chief was "doing a great job."

Earlier, Trump admitted that the people he talks to are urging him to dismiss Hegseth. However, he emphasized that he intended to leave him in his current position.

Talks about the nuclear program

Trump was also asked about the proposals that mediators were to present to Iran regarding the future of its nuclear program. He replied: They don't do anything without our consent.

According to the New York Times, Tehran is currently analyzing the specific terms presented by the intermediaries. The daily pointed out that this could open the way to a breakthrough in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict between the US and Iran.

The head of Iran's security services, Mohsen Rezaei, declared this week that Iran will not enter into nuclear talks until Washington accepts Tehran's demands. However, as "NYT" reported, he was more willing to discuss in informal contacts.

One of the most important issues remains the fate of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Officials quoted by the daily did not disclose details of the proposals being analyzed by Tehran.