Trump Dramatically Changes His Tune After Threatening to Obliterate Iran

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he hoped to immediately start work on a nuclear deal with Iran and expressed hope the country would “peacefully grow and prosper” the day after he signed an order to impose aggressive measures on Tehran.

After reimposing his “maximum pressure” campaign to deter Iran from seeking a nuclear weapon Tuesday, the president also told reporters he’d left instructions to have Iran “obliterated” if it succeeded in any assassination attempt against him. He struck a very different tone early Wednesday, stating that he would “prefer” a peace agreement—and even called for a big party to celebrate its theoretical signing.

“I want Iran to be a great and successful Country, but one that cannot have a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “Reports that the United States, working in conjunction with Israel, is going to blow Iran into smithereens, ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED.”

The President continued: “I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper. We should start working on it immediately, and have a big Middle East Celebration when it is signed and completed. God Bless the Middle East!”

In November, the Justice Department said an Iranian plot to assassinate Trump ahead of the election had been foiled. “There won’t be anything left” of the country, Trump said Tuesday when describing the scale of the “instructions” he left about what to do if he is killed on orders from Tehran.

Trump’s comments come after he said he was “torn” about signing the executive order targeting Iran. However, he ultimately pushed ahead with the directive to reinstate oil export sanctions. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said the measures are necessary to prevent the country from developing a nuclear bomb.

When asked how close Iran is to developing such a weapon, Trump told reporters: “They’re too close.”

Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s White House national security adviser, said in December he had warned the incoming Trump administration that a weakened Iran could return to nuclear bomb aspirations.

This week, The New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence officials believe Iran is looking at ways it could speed up the development of an atomic weapon if the country’s leaders decides to seek a bomb.