Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump declared on Friday that he has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in the ongoing conflict with Iran, asserting that such armaments should remain unused by any nation.

Addressing the media at the White House, Trump dismissed a query regarding the potential use of the nuclear arsenal against Tehran. "Why would a stupid question like that be asked?... No, I wouldn't use it. A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody," he stated.

Economic Independence and Energy Security

The president highlighted the resilience of the American economy and domestic energy production as central to his administration’s strategy to dismantle Iran's nuclear ambitions. He noted that international shipping has begun rerouting toward the United States to avoid the volatile Strait of Hormuz.

"We have this unbelievable economy... I called JD, Marco, Howard and Scott and told them that I hate to tell you, but we have to do a little bit of a detour. We have to go to Iran and make sure that they are out of nuclear weapons," Trump said. He further emphasised that the U.S. is not currently facing an energy deficit. "A lot of ships are coming to the United States... We don't have an oil shortage... We are right now producing more oil than Saudi Arabia and Russia combined... We are taking in millions of barrels of oil from Venezuela."

Strategic Stranglehold on the Strait

Trump claimed that the U.S. maintains "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz and is intentionally keeping the waterway closed to force Tehran into a permanent diplomatic settlement. While he suggested that a deal could be reached immediately, he expressed a preference for an "everlasting" agreement rather than a temporary fix.

"Right now, we have it closed. We have total control of the Strait," Trump said, adding that he personally rejected a recent Iranian offer to reopen the passage. "They came to us, and they said, 'We will agree to open the Strait.' All my people were happy except me. I said, 'One minute, if we open the Strait, that means they are going to make $500 million a day. I don't want them to make $500 million a day until they settle this thing.'"

Military Status and Diplomatic Leverage

The president stated he feels no urgency to conclude the West Asia conflict, contrasting the current timeline with historical military engagements like Vietnam. He estimated that U.S. forces have already neutralised roughly 78% of their intended targets.

"I took the country out militarily in the first 4 weeks. Now what we are doing is sitting back and seeing what deal. If they don't want to make a deal, then I will finish it up militarily with the other 25% targets," he remarked.

Trump suggested that Iran is facing a critical deadline because its oil infrastructure is at risk of permanent damage due to a lack of storage capacity. "If they don't get their oil moving, their whole oil infrastructure is going to explode... they have a matter of days before that event takes place," he claimed.

Humanitarian Gestures and Regional Proxies

In a notable development, Trump announced that Iran had agreed to a U.S. request to halt the scheduled executions of eight young women. He described the move as either a "favour" or a "moral request." According to the president, four of the women will be released shortly, while the remaining four will serve an additional month in prison before being freed.

Despite these gestures, Trump maintained a firm stance on regional security, stating that Iran must cease its financial support for the militant group Hezbollah as a non-negotiable condition of any final settlement. "Yeah, they will have to cut that off. That is a must," he concluded.

With inputs from ANI