Trump on Iran:

I think they really want [a deal] — they’re practically begging.

Anyone who was being destroyed would want one, right?

Source: N14

Over 50,000 U.S. troops are now in the Middle East—about 10,000 more than usual—after 2,500 Marines and 2,500 sailors were deployed.

Source: NYT

NEW: The U.S. is allowing a Russian oil tanker to reach Cuba, easing months of strict pressure that had effectively blocked fuel shipments.

The tanker carries about 730,000 barrels of crude oil and is expected to arrive soon, giving Cuba temporary relief from severe fuel shortages, blackouts, and economic strain.

Source: NYT

Trump is considering a risky military mission to physically seize nearly 1,000 pounds of enriched uranium from Iran.

Goal: Stop Iran from building nukes.

The operation would be complex, dangerous, and not quick.

It could put U.S. troops inside Iran for days, with risk of retaliation and a longer war.

Source: WSJ

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Trump to FT:

To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran but some stupid people back in the US say:

“Why are you doing that?”

But they’re stupid people.

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Trump to FT:

Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options.

I don’t think they have any defence. We could take it very easily.

Trump:

Big day in Iran. Many long sought after targets have been taken out and destroyed by our GREAT MILITARY, the finest and most lethal in the World.

Trump on Iran:

They gave us, I think out of a sign of respect, 20 boats of oil, big boats of oil going through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump on Iran:

You never know with Iran, because we negotiate with them and then we always have to blow them up.

Trump on Iran:

I think we’ll make a deal with them. Pretty sure. But it’s possible we won’t.

Trump on Iran:

I think we’ve had regime change, we can’t do much better than that.

Trump:

The military is building a big complex under the ballroom.

Trump on Iran:

I do see a deal with Iran. It could be soon.

Reporter: Are you considering still putting boots on the ground in Iran?

Trump: I just have lots of alternatives.

Trump on Cuba:

Cuba is going to be next. Cuba is a mess. It’s a failing country.

They’re going to be next within a short period of time — it’s going to fail.

And we will be there to help it out.

China's Xi Jinping invited Cheng Li-wun, head of Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang, to visit China.

She accepted.

It’s the first such visit in about a decade and signals renewed China–KMT engagement.

Trump on Iran:

They’re going to give up nuclear weapons. They’re going to give us the nuclear dust.

They’re going to do everything that we want to do. And you know what? They’re going to go on and maybe have a great country again.

But if they don’t do that, they’re not going to have a country.

Reporter: There’s a report that the U.S. is going to let a Russian oil tanker go to Cuba. Is that true?

Trump: I told them if a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem with that.

Reporter: Do you worry that that helps Putin?

Trump: Does it help him? Why? He loses one boatload of oil — that’s all it is. It’s fine.

If he wants to do that, and if other countries want to do it, it doesn’t bother me much. It’s not going to have an impact. Cuba is finished.

They have a bad regime. They have very bad and corrupt leadership. And whether or not they get a boat of oil, it’s not going to matter.

Reporter: Iran controlling the Strait of Hormuz and charging tolls, what do you think about that?

Trump: We could close that up in two minutes. We could close that up so fast your head would spin.