Trump Pressed On Why ‘This Time Is Different’ When He Says Iran Deal Is Near

ABC News’s Rachel Scott pressed President Donald Trump on why “this time it’s different” when he suggests that an Iran Deal is near — a claim Trump has made repeatedly for months, but that has yet to come to fruition.

Speaking to the press from the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon, Trump announced that the U.S. “just made a great settlement of the war with Iran,” though it is “subject to finalization of documents, which should get done over the next few days.”

As of June 9, CNN reported that Trump has claimed a deal with Iran was near at least 38 times.

“You have said before that Iran and the United States were close to a deal,” Scott asked. “It has not happened yet. Why are you so convinced that this time is different?”

Trump suggested that it is “because Iran has taken a pounding” in reference to renewed U.S. attacks on Iran in recent days.

“They have taken a pounding like very few people could take, and they want to make the deal a lot more than I do,” he said. “And we could have done it the other way, I guess, but it would have taken longer. They got hit very hard recently, as you know, and I don’t like to do things that way, but I felt it was necessary.”

He continued, alluding to the potential terms of the deal and insisting Iran will not have a nuclear weapon:

It is a great deal for the United States and for the Middle East and I think ultimately great for Iran because they will be able to build up their country. I really believe it is a regime change because I find these people to be much more rational than the people that are no longer with us. We knocked out the first team of leadership, the second team of leadership. This is a different group, a different level. I think it is a frankly smarter level and a level that has reason. They have approved the deal, everybody has approved the deal. Now we will get it finished up and hopefully that will be done. We will not have Iran having a nuclear weapon, which is very important to these people behind me. … Iran will essentially, most important paragraph to me, Iran will in no way, shape, or form have a nuclear weapon or purchase a nuclear weapon.

Scott pressed further.

“But is this just a concept of that agreement when it comes to nuclear weapons?” she asked, referring to the possibility that the deal may not be concrete. “You said this was just a concept of that agreement, so is this essentially setting the stage for deeper talks on nuclear?”

Trump insisted the prospective deal is built on a “conceptual” but “strong memorandum of understanding”:

It’s a very strong memorandum of understanding that is a little conceptual, but it is something that is going to get done, and if it doesn’t get done for any reason, which I can’t imagine it not happening, they want to sign it as much as I do or more. I would say they want to sign it more, maybe a lot more. But it is a very detailed memorandum of understanding, also agreed to by many other countries that have great influence over them, and everybody wants it done.

Watch above via Fox News.

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