Trump says Iran has not agreed to a U.S. deal because ‘they’re strong, they’re proud’

President Donald Trump on Friday said Iranian leaders have not yet reached a deal with the U.S. to end the ongoing war because they’re “strong” and “proud,” but ultimately, he added, “they’ve got no choice” except to reach an agreement.

Subscribe to read this story ad-free

Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.

“They’re strong, they’re proud, there are things they never thought they’d be doing that they’re going to have to do. They’ve got no choice, and it takes a little while,” the president told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker during a sit-down interview in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

Trump’s remarks come as U.S. and Iranian leaders have been negotiating to end the war, which entered its fourth month last week.

The two nations agreed to a ceasefire in April that has been extended several times, though tensions flared in recent days when the U.S. and Iran traded strikes near the Strait of Hormuz.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday told House lawmakers that the ongoing military operation, which the Trump administration has dubbed “Operation Epic Fury,” “has concluded.”

He added that the strikes earlier in the week were “defensive in nature,” telling members of Congress that they came in response to Iran’s attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz.

“In order to protect our own forces, we don’t just strike the drones, we strike the people who launch those drones. These are completely defensive in nature, but they are happening in response to an Iranian action. If they don’t shoot at those ships, we don’t shoot, but we have to respond,” Rubio said.

The ongoing conflict led Iran months ago to shutter the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial maritime passageway for oil tankers. The strait’s closure has led to soaring oil prices globally and surging gas prices in the U.S., putting pressure on Trump and Republican leaders in Washington to ease economic pressure for Americans.

During Friday’s interview, Trump criticized those who are urging him to quickly reach a deal with Iran to end the ongoing conflict, saying, “It takes years to do these things.”

“These people have been fighting for 47 years. They’ve been killing Americans,” the president said, referring to Iranian leaders. “They’ve been taking off their legs and their arms and their faces have been hurt so badly and so horribly.”

He went on to compare the length of the ongoing conflict with the Vietnam War, saying, “I’m moving very fast. I’m into three months. You know, Vietnam lasted 19 years. I’m into my third month, and all they do is say, ‘Whoa, when are you going to win?’ If I were a Democrat, nobody would be talking that way, but it doesn’t matter to me. I’ve gotten so used to it.”

Trump added that so far in the conflict, “we have totally destroyed their military” but added that Iran still does have some missiles and drones.

“Most of the drone factories have been knocked out, most of the launching pads have been knocked out and most of the missile manufacturing areas have been knocked out. But they still have capacity. They have some missiles, they have some drones,” he said. “I would say percentage wise, maybe 21-22% of their missiles. It’s a lot of missiles, but it’s not what it was when we first attacked.”

Iran showed that it still retains missile and drone capabilities by a launching a series of attacks across the Persian Gulf earlier this week, even hitting the Kuwait International Airport.

The president has long been critical of Iran and he and other Trump administration officials in recent weeks have said that the war, which began with a series of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, was necessary to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon.

On Wednesday, in an interview with the New York Post’s “Pod Force One,” podcast, Trump said it was “unlikely” that the U.S. blockade of Iran — which he imposed after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz — would still be in place by Labor Day.

In that interview, the president also floated the possibility of not reaching a deal with Iranian leaders, saying he’ll have to make a “determination.”

“Do we sign a deal or we do it the other way?” he asked. “And the other way is not nice.”