Trump refuses to reveal whether he’ll bomb Iran as he threatens ‘hell to pay’ in Middle East over hostages

Donald Trump repeatedly refused to answer a question about whether he would order a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities — while repeating a stark warning if Hamas did not release American hostages at his inauguration.

Trump was asked if Iran was following suit reports he considered pre-emptive strikes as a way to prevent Tehran from developing an atomic bomb.

Trump first ridiculed the question, but then refused to answer. “Well, I can’t tell you. I mean, it’s a great question,” Trump began.

‘Why would I say that? Can you imagine if I said yes or no? You would say: that was strange that he answered that question.’

‘Am I going to carry out pre-emptive strikes or Iran? Is that a serious question? How could I answer such a question?’

Asked about a follow-up to Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities — the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he was concerned about Iran developing nuclear weapons under his watch — Trump continued: “How can should I tell you something like that now? It’s just that… You don’t talk about that until something may or may not happen… it’s just not something I would ever answer.”

He spoke just days after the sudden collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, when Russia was trapped in Ukraine and Israeli attacks ravaged Hezbollah, an Iranian ally that Assad had helped support. During his first term, Trump withdrew the US from a nuclear deal with Iran, which he said was a bad deal.

The exchange was just one of several times Trump has delved into foreign policy statements as he nears the start of his second term — at a time when he said “the whole world is exploding.”

Another came when he was asked to explain his threat that there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages are not released when he takes office on January 20. The outgoing Biden administration continues to negotiate an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages.

Trump indicated he had spoken to Netanyahu for an update on the situation.

“Well, they’ll have to decide what that means, but it means it won’t be pleasant. It’s not going to be pleasant,” was all Trump allowed.

Trump also criticized the Biden administration for allowing Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons to attack inside Russia amid the ongoing war to repel the invasion.

‘I don’t think they should have allowed missiles to be fired up to 200 miles into Russia. I think that was a bad thing, and that brought the Koreans – North Korea, another guy I get along with very well,” he said, referring to dictator Kim Jong Un.

The administration said it approved its use in response to Russia bringing in thousands of North Korean troops — not the other way around.

When asked if he would reverse the step, Trump replied: “Maybe, yes. I thought it was a very stupid thing to do.’

When asked what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should be willing to give up to Russia, Trump said: “He has to be willing to make a deal — that’s all.”

“It has to be a deal,” Trump said. ‘Too many people are being murdered. That’s a war. – – too much – a deal needs to be made. And Putin needs to make a deal.”