Trump says he'd be 'honoured' to meet Mojtaba Khamenei, warns war could restart if Iran kills American troops

US President Donald Trump on Thursday (Jun 5) hinted that breakthroughs in the Iran conflict may be on the horizon but warned that killing American troops would be the red line that could restart the war. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, the POTUS also said he was open to meeting Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, while noting that he was not Iran's Supreme Leader's "favourite person".

Trump's new goal ending 10 wars

"A lot of people would say that I've ended eight wars and soon to be a ninth," Trump told reporters, adding that he hoped he can round up the number to 10 with Iran war. "I hope that works out to, you know, frankly, it's probably, and there's another one also that could be 10."

He once again claimed that Iran's military had been wiped out. "There's no Navy. There's no Air Force. We've wiped them out." He added that the US has knocked out Tehran's anti-aircraft, air force, "just about everything you can knock out".

The POTUS claimed that "almost all" of Iran's generals have been "wiped out".

"They had to get new generals. And then after that, they didn't get more new generals," he said.

Will the US restart the war with Iran?

Alarmingly, Trump said that the US could restart the war with Iran. However, he insisted that this would happen if Tehran kills US troops. "Well, it would be a good reason. I'd be honest with you. Yeah, if they kill U.S. troops, I think I would do that very quickly," he said.

Trump open to meeting Mojtaba

The US president also said that he was willing to meet Iran's Supreme Leader. However, he insisted that he would meet only if Washington and Tehran struck a deal. Trump said that he was open to the meeting despite differences. "I'd be honoured to meet him."

Despite the repeated verbal attacks on Mojtaba by his administration, Trump claimed that if a meeting happens, he would be "respectful". However, he noted that "I'm not his favourite person," presumably because the US wiped out Mojtaba's family in its strikes since February 28. "But with that being said, he's probably a professional in some circles," Trump added.
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