Iran agreed not to have nuclear weapon, sent big present to US: Trump
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump said Iran agreed never to have a nuclear weapon and sent a “significant prize” related to the Strait of Hormuz even as he declared victory in the three-week war.
Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump claimed Iran was keen to “make a deal” and indicated that Vice President J D Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special envoy on Middle East Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were leading the negotiations.
The President said that the current Iranian leadership had already undergone significant changes.
“It’s what we really have, regime change. You know, this is a change in the regime because the leaders are all very different from the ones that we started off with that created all those problems,” he said.
Earlier, Trump endorsed a social media post by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on facilitating the talks between Iran and the US. Sharif also offered to host the talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict.
“I don't want to say in advance, but they've agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters after the swearing in ceremony of Markwayne Mullin as the new secretary for Department of Homeland Security.
Trump said the Iranian leadership gave the US a "significant prize" related to the Strait of Hormuz and the flow of oil.
“They are going to make a deal. They did something yesterday that was amazing, actually. They gave us a present. And the present arrived today. It was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money,” the US President said.
“I am not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize. And they gave it to us,” he said.
“So that meant one thing to me, we're dealing with the right people. No, it wasn't nuclear weapons. It was oil and gas related,” Trump said.
The US President asserted that the war against Iran has been won.
“I don't like to say this. We've won this. This war has been won... It's like we're not winning a war where they have no Navy and they have no Air Force and they have no nothing. And we literally have planes flying over Tehran and other parts of their country. They can't do a thing about it,” Trump said.
He said the US obliterated Iran’s nuclear potential, which could have been used against American allies in the Middle East.
“We obliterated it. Just obliterated their nuclear potential. You would have had them having two weeks after that attack, had we not made the attack (using B-2 bombers). They would have had a nuclear weapon. They would have absolutely used it. And they would have used it on the entire Middle East, including Israel,” Trump said.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said never in history has a modern military been so rapidly and historically obliterated, defeated from day one.
“Never in history has a modern military, Iran had a modern military, a modern Navy, a modern Air Force, modern air defences, leadership, massive bunker. Never has a modern military been so rapidly and historically obliterated, defeated from day one with overwhelming firepower,” Hegseth said.
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EC role, Hindu vote consolidation among factors for BJP win in Bengal polls: J-K CM Omar
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday attributed the BJP's West Bengal win to a "significant role" played by the Election Commission (EC), alongside a consolidation of Hindu votes and a fractured minority mandate.
Abdullah also said the INDIA bloc needs to define its role in the political landscape of the country and make it clear whether the opposition alliance was limited to the parliamentary elections or extended to the state elections as well.
Talking to PTI Videos, Abdullah hinted that the EC has compromised its neutrality by conducting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal and linked it to the BJP's gains in the state, claiming large-scale deletion of legitimate voters.
On the performance of the BJP in the just concluded assembly elections, Abdullah said the saffron party has almost nothing to show in southern states.
"So then you look at West Bengal and Assam. Yes, the BJP improved its tally in Assam. There are various reasons for that. You know as well as I do, what those are. West Bengal, I think we need to look at the results very carefully," he said.
"The easiest explanation for the West Bengal result is the serious curtailing of voter list," Abdullah said.
"Voters found their names deleted. People who served in uniform and fought for this country on the borders, who were considered Indian citizens all their lives, were suddenly held to a higher standard and not allowed to vote. Something is not right," he said.
While alleging that the EC played a "significant part" in the results, the chief minister admitted the outcome was multifaceted and noted a consolidation of over 60 per cent of the Hindu vote towards the BJP and a "significant fracture" in the minority vote, particularly in seats where Muslims constitute over 50 per cent of the population.
"There is no doubt that the role of the Election Commission played a significant part in the results but we will also have to look at the other factors," he said.
He said the results of West Bengal cannot be compared to those in other states. "The situation was unique to West Bengal. The SIR that was done, the way in which the voter lists were changed, the sort of minute scrutiny that the Election Commission subjected West Bengal to, the role of the central investigative agencies.
"All of these are situations that at least in recent electoral history of India are unique to West Bengal. So to suggest that we can learn lessons from West Bengal and implement them in other parts of the country, I think would not be correct," he said.
Abdullah had recently said that if the West Bengal results throw a surprise, the role of EC will come under scrutiny.
However, during Tuesday's interview, the chief minister said he still maintains that electronic voting machines (EVMs) do not lead to vote theft.
"What we saw in West Bengal...I know there are a lot of people who believe that the EVMs themselves are flawed. I am not a proponent of that conspiracy theory.
"But I do believe that the Election Commission has done itself no favours in the way in which it has gone about both the process of delimitation and the process of finalisation of electoral rolls," he said and cited the example of delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir or Assam.
"These are clear examples of how the process was done to benefit one party or in the case of Jammu and Kashmir, one party and its allies. And the results speak for themselves. You created seven new seats in Jammu and Kashmir and out of those six seats were won by the BJP. You redrew assembly constituencies to benefit one particular party or its allies. And the same is true for West Bengal as well," he said.
Referring to the INIDA bloc, he said the election results were no new message for the alliance.
"We need to decide what the INDIA bloc is for. Is it only for Parliament or for state elections as well?" he asked.
"What happened in West Bengal is unfortunate. The Congress and TMC fought against each other. Now the Congress agrees with Mamata Banerjee that 100 seats were stolen, but the fact is they fought each other," he said.
Despite the friction, Abdullah reaffirmed the "pre-eminent position" of the Congress within the opposition alliance, dismissing the idea of any other party assuming the mantle.
"The Congress is the only party other than the BJP with a pan-India presence. All of us acknowledge this," he stated.
"To suggest someone else can assume a leadership role would be incorrect. Kharge Sahib is the president of the Congress, and by virtue of that, he assumes leadership of the INDIA bloc meetings. That is the way it should be," the chief minister said.
Abdullah said any 'Common Minimum Programme' would depend on whether the opposition alliance decides to fight state assembly elections collectively, noting that he would share his specific views with the bloc internally rather than through the media.
