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National Security Adviser Mike Waltz said on Sunday that President Donald Trump will never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, doubling down on previous statements by the president.
Waltz shared the comments during an interview on “Fox News Sunday” concerning a potential strike by Israel on Iran’s nuclear program.
“I can speak to what the president has repeatedly said and that is Iran can never have a nuclear weapon,” Waltz said. “That not only would be existential for Israel, I think it would be existential for the entire world, because it could kick off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.”
“How we get there, I’m not going to get into the details here, but the president has also expressed a willingness to take whatever action is necessary,” he continued. “All options are on the table, but also to talk to Iran as well if they want to give up their entire program and not play games as we’ve seen Iran do in the past in prior negotiations.”
He concluded, “I’ll promise you this: President Trump is absolutely serious, deadly serious, when he says Iran can never have a nuke, and certainly not on President Trump’s watch; they are an irrational actor that we cannot allow to have their finger on the button.”
Trump recently signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) to stop the Middle Eastern nation from obtaining nuclear weapons.
The memorandum denies both nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles, allowing economic sanctions to enforce the effort.
“The NSPM establishes that: Iran should be denied a nuclear weapon and intercontinental ballistic missiles; Iran’s terrorist network should be neutralized; and Iran’s aggressive development of missiles, as well as other asymmetric and conventional weapons capabilities, should be countered,” the text reads.
“The NSPM directs the Secretary of the Treasury to impose maximum economic pressure on the Government of Iran, including by sanctioning or imposing enforcement mechanisms on those acting in violation of existing sanctions,” it continues.
The effort also came as Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month in Washington. The two leaders also discussed the situation in Gaza, with discussions of America becoming more involved in the rebuilding of the area.
