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.