President Donald Trump said on Saturday that it will take Iran "several years" to recover from U.S. attacks that have been taking place, but noted he has "several off ramps" the regime could take to avoid prolonging the conflict.
"I can go long and take over the whole thing, or end it in two or three days and tell the Iranians: 'See you again in a few years if you start rebuilding" nuclear and missile programs, Trump told Axios in an interview.
Trump went on to say he decided to launch the strikes because he concluded that Tehran didn't "really want a deal" based on how negotiations were going.
"The Iranians got close and then pulled back — close and then pulled back. I understood from that that they don't really want a deal," he said.
He also noted the regime's actions over the past decades, saying that he requested his team to find information on every Iranian-linked attack around the world over the past 25 years. "I saw that every month they did something bad, blew something up or killed someone," he said.
Elsewhere in the interview, Trump said that if he hadn't ordered a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities last year, the country would have developed a nuclear weapon, making it impossible to attack.
In his speech announcing the attack, Trump encouraged the people of Iran to topple the regime once the bombing ends. "When we are finished, take over your government, it will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations."
Iran has retaliated by launching missiles to Israel, as well as U.S. bases in the region including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the attacks a violation of the UN Charter and a "clear crime against international peace and security." He said Iran will use all its "defensive and military capabilities."
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