President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran must be permitted to retain at least some ballistic missiles, dismissing calls for the emerging U.S.-Iran agreement to strip Tehran of its entire missile arsenal.

Speaking at the Group of Seven summit in France, Trump argued that it would be unrealistic and unfair to allow American partners such as Saudi Arabia to possess missiles while demanding that Iran have none.

“They have to have some,” Trump said when asked about Iran’s ballistic missile program.

“Some of these guys, I don’t think they are smart,” he continued, referring to critics demanding a total prohibition. “‘Sir, you shouldn’t let them have any missiles.’ What am I going to do, let Saudi Arabia have missiles but they can’t have them?”

Trump then drew a sharp distinction between Iran’s missile arsenal and its nuclear program.

“Missiles aren’t the problem,” the president said. “Missiles, they hurt a little location, but they don’t blow up the planet.”

The comments represented a notable shift from the administration’s earlier wartime rhetoric, which presented the destruction of Iran’s missile capabilities as one of the central goals of the U.S.-Israeli campaign.

During the months of fighting, Iran repeatedly launched ballistic missiles and drones at Israel and American military positions across the region. The United States and Israel destroyed a significant portion of Tehran’s missile stockpile, launchers and production infrastructure, but Iran retained the ability to carry out attacks by the time negotiations intensified.

How long until Trump says Iran having a nuclear weapon is only fair because other countries have them?

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)