“I don’t want to kill people,” says President Trump, emphasizing his preference for a negotiated settlement with Iran.By World Israel News StaffPresident Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would prefer to reach an agreement with Iran rather than launch another major military assault, while claiming the US had been prepared to carry out its largest attack since World War II before Tehran sought negotiations.Speaking to supporters in Nevada, Trump said US forces were continuing to strike Iran heavily but portrayed the military campaign as leverage intended to produce an agreement preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.“I would rather make a deal because I don’t want to kill people,” Trump said, after declaring that American forces were “knocking the hell out of them.”Trump said the US had been ready to launch an unprecedented operation before Iranian representatives contacted Washington and asked to talk.“We were all set for the biggest attack since World War II,” Trump said. He claimed Iranian officials pleaded with the US not to proceed, but later publicly denied that they had requested negotiations.Trump did not disclose the targets, scale or timing of the planned attack. He said the two countries remained in contact and suggested Iran had developed new respect for the US following months of American and Israeli strikes.“But we are talking. Let’s see what happens,” Trump said. “They respect us. They respect us.”The president reiterated that any eventual agreement would have to permanently prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, describing that condition as nonnegotiable.“No other president has done what you should have done a long time ago, because Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.Trump’s remarks continued a pattern of coupling public optimism about negotiations with threats of overwhelming military action if Tehran refuses US terms.During a Fox News interview Tuesday night, Trump said the US and Iran had held an “all-day negotiation” and were “having very good discussions.” He predicted that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen soon but warned that Iran would face further strikes if it withdrew from an agreement.“If they back out again, they are going to get hit really hard,” Trump said.The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy routes, has remained largely closed since Iran restricted passage following the outbreak of war in February. The disruption has forced ships to seek Iranian permission to transit the waterway and has placed sustained pressure on global oil and gas markets.Trump also told a Las Vegas television station that talks appeared “to be working out quite well.”“I am not looking to kill people and totally obliterate everything,” he said, adding that the two sides had been heading toward that outcome before Iran agreed to negotiate.Despite Trump’s assertions, Iranian officials have continued to deny that they are engaged in direct negotiations with Washington. Tehran says it is negotiating with Oman over arrangements for commercial shipping through the strait rather than holding bilateral talks with the US.Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the discussions with Oman were focused on creating safe shipping lanes while protecting the sovereignty and national security of both countries. Qatar, which has also participated in mediation, said diplomatic efforts had reached “very progressive stages.”Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that an agreement had not yet been completed.“There’s been progress made in those talks, but not finality yet,” Rubio said. “We’re hoping that will happen very shortly.”Significant disagreements reportedly remain over who would control traffic through Hormuz and whether ships would be required to pay Iran or Oman for passage.A proposed arrangement under discussion would give Iran authority over vessels entering the Gulf, according to an Iranian official and two regional officials cited by Reuters. Gulf negotiators have pushed for regional supervision of inspections and voluntary rather than mandatory payments.Iran is seeking fees amounting to between 5% and 7% of the value of cargo passing through the strait, while Oman has discussed a fee of approximately 3%, according to the report. Washington wants passage to remain free of charges.Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the proposed system would route commercial vessels through Iranian territorial waters on both incoming and outgoing journeys.Talks had “reached fundamental understandings,” Gharibabadi said, adding that the progress was “on the verge of being finalised.” He nevertheless maintained that Iran had not held direct negotiations with the US in recent days.Regional officials cautioned that a deal was not as close as Trump had suggested and that major questions remained unresolved. Any arrangement recognizing Iranian authority over inbound traffic would represent a significant change from the prewar system, under which international shipping moved through the strait without fees or Iranian approval.Trump has accused Tehran of privately seeking an agreement while publicly denying its contacts with Washington.“Iranian Leadership is unbelievably duplicitous!” Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier in the week, claiming Iran had asked for talks and then falsely insisted that it was dealing only with Oman.“Nothing gets through to Iran, unless we want it to,” he wrote, concluding: “IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!”The president said Monday that he was giving Iran “every last chance” before approving a much larger attack, describing the decision as difficult because of the expected human cost.“I think I’m very proud of the fact that I will give people a chance,” Trump said. “This is a big move to do an attack that big on a country. I’d rather not do it.”Trump has not set a public deadline for the negotiations. Asked Tuesday when he would conclude that diplomacy had failed, he replied, “I have plenty of time.”The post Trump says he prefers Iran deal after US prepared ‘biggest attack since World War II’ appeared first on World Israel News.