“I predict they come back and they give us everything we want. And I told my people, I want everything. I don’t want 90%, I don’t want 95%. I told them, I want everything,” he added. “They have no cards, Maria. They have no cards. Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone, totally gone. They have nothing, have no ships, 158 ships at the bottom of the sea — good ones.” 

The president cited long-standing concerns that Iran is developing nuclear weapons as the top concern in negotiations. Trump warned Iran would not hesitate to use the nuclear bomb, pointing to Tehran’s readiness to wage retaliatory attacks against Middle Eastern partners in the Gulf States after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. 

“I think they would use it. And they start with Israel. And one weapon would do damage like nobody’s ever seen. Wipe it out, conceivably a big one, wipe it out. They don’t need more than one. And then they go after the Middle East, and then they’d eventually come here,” Trump said. “If they had a nuclear weapon, they would have used it on Israel and the Middle East. Look, they went after five countries that were sort of neutral. … They went crazy, and everyone was surprised.”

The president hailed the U.S.’s move to bomb three key Iranian nuclear sites last June but said Sunday that the country still retains uranium it could enrich to develop nuclear weapons. Trump said the U.S. holds the capability to closely monitor the uranium sites, which are located deep in the mountains. The U.S. would likely need to authorize at least a limited ground invasion of Iran to extract the uranium.

“They are now deep in the earth with, you know, tons of rock. Now, that material should be gotten, but we have cameras on it. We have satellites with Space Force,” he said. “We’re watching every single aspect of that area. They can’t move without us knowing exactly what’s going on, but it’s deep down, and it takes a long time to get it out.” 

The war began in late February, sparking global repercussions after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, choking off much of the world’s oil and gas supply. Trump said Iran agreed to resume peace talks and open the waterway last Tuesday, hours after he made a controversial statement that promised “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if Iran did not come to the table. 

When pressed by Bartiromo on the statement on Sunday, Trump stood by his comments. 

“I’m fine with it. That statement brought them to the table,” he said. “They’re allowed to say ‘Death to America’ … and I make one statement, they say, ‘Oh, such a big deal.’ Let me tell you that statement got them to the bargaining table, and they haven’t left. They haven’t left the bargaining table.” 

“They say ‘Death to America, death to Israel, [compare] America to Satan. We will destroy America. Death to America.’ Now, does anybody ever complain to you when they say that?” Trump added. “When I talk about civilization, it will be much different, because their military will be totally gone.” 

The president also detailed his newly announced naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, a move that appears designed to ultimately reopen the waterway and force Iran to the negotiating table. Trump indicated that NATO countries have agreed to help out with the effort, a notable development, as he has repeatedly railed against them for not assuming responsibility in securing the strait. The strait was supposed to open after the two-week ceasefire was announced last Tuesday, according to Trump, but Iran has kept some restrictions on the passageway. 

“We’re very disappointed with NATO — very, very disappointed that they didn’t come. Now they want to come and they want to help with the strait, and it won’t take long to clean it out, so we’re going to clean out the strait, and they’ll be able to use the strait,” Trump said. “We’re just bringing the ships up. We got a lot of ships, so we’re bringing them up. We think that numerous countries are going to be helping us with this also, but we’re putting on a complete blockade. We’re not going to let Iran make money on selling oil to like enough people they don’t like. It’s going to be all or none.” 

CHINA REPORTEDLY SET TO DELIVER NEW AIR DEFENSE SYSTEMS TO IRAN IN COMING WEEKS

Trump also referenced reports that China is preparing to send weapons to Iran. The president said he “doubts” China would do such a thing, citing his relationship with Beijing, but warned the U.S. would act harshly if the rumors are found to be true.

“If we catch them doing that, they get a 50% tariff, which is a staggering amount,” Trump said.