Israel and the Middle East “would not exist” if Iran had nuclear weapons

O American President Donald Trump said today that Israel and the Middle East “would not exist” if “it had not prevented” Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon – the main argument he makes to justify the attacks on the Islamic Republic.

“Israel and indeed the whole Middle East THERE WOULDN'T BE TODAY if I hadn't stopped Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Nobody wants to say this, but everyone knows it’s true!”, Trump published on the Truth Social network, after his vice president, JD Vance attributed to the conflict with the Islamic Republic the copious defeat suffered by the Republican Party in mid-term elections on Tuesday.

Vance said on Wednesday that “the reason” for the Republicans’ loss of midterms was the war in Iran and regretted, referring to internal Republican Party data, that the problem was not abstention, but the fact that many voters who voted for Trump in 2024 have now opted for Democrats.

Trump spoke on the phone today with Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, emir of Qatar – a country that acts as mediator in the conflict involving Iran – to discuss the ongoing “efforts” to prevent an escalation in the Middle East.

According to the Emir office in a statement, during the conversation both addressed “the latest advances in international initiatives, especially Qatar’s efforts to bring the positions of the parties involved closer together and support the negotiation process, with a view to paving the way for a comprehensive agreement to end the crisis and establish security and stability in the region.”.

Iran claims control of the Strait of Ormuz, where one-fifth of world oil and gas passed before the war triggered by the Israeli and North American attacks on Tehran in late February.

Iran usually attacks vessels transiting through the region without their permission, sailing along the coast of Oman. In response, Washington imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and escorts oil tankers along that route when the peace negotiations between the two countries are at a standstill.

Last week, the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) stated that its forces had “successfully cleared the main straitways of any Iranian mines.”.

The United States claims to have helped the Gulf countries export 1.5 billion barrels of oil via Ormuz since summer, bypassing the Iranian blockade.

In unconfirmed information independently, the Revolutionary Guard of Iran today announced that two other oil tankers are on fire after hitting mines in the Ormuz Strait region, the central stage of the conflict.

Such announcements have become more frequent in recent weeks, while Washington claims to have carried out a wide mine clearance operation on this crucial maritime route.

In mid-October, data from the security company Vanguard, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the British Maritime Safety Agency (UKMTO) indicated an increase in attacks.

However, to date these agencies have not confirmed Tehran’s new allegations.

Already on Thursday, the Iranian armed forces had claimed that five tankers and one tugboat suffered a similar fate.