Trump leaves door open to Iran keeping ballistic weapons

Published June 17, 2026 1:50pm ET | Updated June 17, 2026 1:50pm ET



President Donald Trump on Wednesday appeared open to Iran maintaining its ballistic missile systems as the United States moves to wind down its war in the region.

Earlier in the spring, the Trump administration had specifically listed destroying Iran’s ballistic missile capacity as one of the core objectives of the war, but Trump seemed to have moved away from that position during a press conference at the G7 summit.

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