President Donald Trump on Wednesday defiantly asserted at a NATO conference that his strikes on Iran obliterated its nuclear facilities, despite an initial U.S. intelligence report that suggests Iran’s nuclear program was set back by only months.
"If you look at Hiroshima, if you look at Nagasaki, you know, that ended a war, too," Trump said, a reference to the Japanese cities where the U.S. dropped atomic bombs during WWII. "[The Iran strikes] ended a war in a different way."
"We destroyed the nuclear," Trump added. "It's blown up to kingdom come."
Despite the president's assertion, a preliminary U.S. intelligence report found that Iran's nuclear program was deterred by only a few months and not completely destroyed, per the AP. This report from the Defense Intelligence Agency on Monday was at odds with assessments from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the results of the strikes.
"Real scum come out and write reports that are as negative as they could possibly be," the U.S. president said, criticizing the reporting from various outlets about the initial intelligence report.
Trump also responded to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte calling him "Daddy" at a presser, where the U.S. president compared Iran and Israel to children fighting in a school yard.
Rutte said, “Daddy has to sometimes use strong language.”
"I think he likes me," Trump said. "If he doesn't, I'll let you know. I'll come back and I'll hit him hard."
