US President Donald Trump, in an interview with his former lawyer Michael Cohen, said that he would repeat the war with Iran “a hundred times” and does not regret how the situation has developed since hostilities began in February. The head of the White House and the lawyer agreed that without this conflict, Israel and Saudi Arabia would have been “wiped off the face of the Earth” due to the alleged threat of Iran developing nuclear weapons.
Trump recorded an audio interview with Cohen on August 20, reconciling with the lawyer who testified against him during his 2024 trial over payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Prior to this, Cohen worked for more than ten years on the Trump team (from 2006 to 2018) and himself spent three years in prison for organizing hush money payments and giving false testimony to Congress. Trump escaped punishment for bribing Daniels before the 2016 election by being re-elected president in 2024.
A fragment of the interview before the release of the full version on August 23 was released by WABC radio station, where Cohen works. Trump, who once called Cohen a “rat” amid their conflict, noted on the recording that he was very happy with the lawyer’s decision to make peace. He touched on the topic of Iran, listing what he considers to be successes in his presidency.
“We actually control or will soon control the straits. We are doing very well with Iran. The press doesn't want to talk about it, even though many say they no longer have a navy, no more air force and no more leaders,” Trump said of the enemy.
According to the head of the White House, concluding a deal with Iran is now problematic, since “no one knows who the leaders are.” He added that Tehran supposedly has nothing to pay the military and the country is “in bad shape.”
“The key reason why I did this—and we had no choice and I would do it a hundred times over—is that they can’t get nuclear weapons and they won’t have nuclear weapons,” the US president said.
Trump suggested that if Iran obtained nuclear weapons, it would “use them very quickly.” According to the Republican, without the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program, Iran would already have such weapons. The JCPOA was signed by the United States under President Barack Obama with Iran, permanent members of the UN Security Council, including Russia, and Germany.
“If they had nuclear weapons, they would use them against everyone. Imagine if there would be no Israel if Donald Trump were not president,” Trump said about himself in the third person, after which he and Cohen suggested that Saudi Arabia and the entire Middle East could also be Iran’s targets.
