By Daniel Trotta
May 12 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Americans’ financial struggles are not a factor in his decision-making as he seeks to negotiate an end to the Iran war, saying that preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon is his top priority.
Asked by a reporter to what extent Americans’ financial situations were motivating him to strike a deal, Trump said: “Not even a little bit.”
“The only thing that matters, when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said before departing the White House for a trip to China. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all. That’s the only thing that motivates me.”
Trump’s remarks are likely to draw scrutiny from critics who argue the administration should balance geopolitical objectives with the economic impact on Americans, particularly as cost-of-living concerns remain a top issue for voters ahead of the November midterm elections.
Asked to elaborate on the president’s comments, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said that Trump’s “ultimate responsibility is the safety and security of Americans. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and if action wasn’t taken, they’d have one, which threatens all Americans.”
Trump is under growing pressure from fellow Republicans who fear economic pain caused by the war could spark a backlash against the party and cost it control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate in November.
Rising energy costs linked to the Iran conflict have pushed up gasoline prices and contributed to inflation.
U.S. consumer inflation in April posted its largest gain in three years, according to data released on Tuesday.
Trump framed his approach as a matter of national and global security, suggesting economic concerns were secondary to preventing nuclear proliferation.
U.S. intelligence assessments, however, indicate that the time Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon has not changed since last summer, when analysts estimated that a U.S.-Israeli attack had increased the timeline to nine months to a year, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The assessments of Tehran’s nuclear program remain broadly unchanged even after two months of a war.
Trump’s allies have echoed his argument that the risks posed by a nuclear-armed Iran outweigh short-term economic hardships.
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and says its program is for peaceful purposes, though Western powers suspect it aims to develop the capability to build a bomb.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington; editing by Ross Colvin and Cynthia Osterman)
