Washington DC [US], March 4 (ANI): US President Donald Trump has defended the recent American strikes against Iran, asserting that the action was necessary to prevent a potential nuclear catastrophe and claimed that 'Tehran was preparing to launch an attack first.'

The conflict in the Middle East has entered its fourth day following the US and Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, along with other key figures in the Persian Gulf country. In retaliation, Tehran has responded with counter-strikes targeting American military bases in Gulf countries and other Israeli assets across the region.

Responding to a question on whether Israel had compelled Washington to act, Trump rejected the suggestion. 'No, Based on the way the negotiation was going, I think [Iran] was going to attack first, and I didn't want that to happen, so if anything, I might've forced Israel's hand,' he said.

The US President described the Iranian regime in stark terms and added that they 'would've taken out many countries' if not attacked.

'If we didn't do what we're doing right now, you would've had a nuclear war and they would've taken out many countries because you know what? They're sick people. They're mentally ill, sick people. They're angry. They're crazy. They're sick,' he added.

'Something had to be done. It's been 47 years. They've been killing people all over the world for a long time... They were really a purveyor of terror all over the world for many, many years,' Trump added.

He further claimed that intelligence assessments 'indicated an imminent threat.'

'I thought we were going to have a situation where we were going to be attacked... A lot of those missiles that are hitting, those are stationary. Those were aimed there for a long period of time at these other countries--so I think I was right about that,' he said.

Declaring that Iran would have used a nuclear weapon if it had acquired one, Trump stated, 'These people are crazy, and if they had a nuclear weapon, they would've used it.'

Referring to the recent military operation 'Operation Epic Fury,' Trump said, 'The attack that we did known as Midnight Hammer, had we not done that, Iran would've had a very powerful nuclear weapon within one month.'

Criticising former President Barack Obama, he said, 'Barack Hussein Obama made maybe the worst deal that I've ever seen because he gave all power in the Middle East to Iran... If I didn't terminate that deal, they would be sitting with a massive nuclear weapon 3 years ago.'

'They're just evil. It's not the politics, it's their whole philosophy... It's terrible, where they kill 35,000 [people], it's just a very evil ideology,' he added.

He also spoke about the negotiations before the strikes. 'We were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first... If we didn't do it, they were going to attack first. I felt strongly about that,' Trump said.

Claiming that US strikes had severely degraded Iran's capabilities, he asserted, 'We've had a very powerful impact because virtually everything they have has been knocked out now. Their missile count is going way down. Amazingly, they're hitting countries that were neutral. They lived together for a long time... Those countries are all fighting against them... They (Iran) no longer have air protection. They no longer have any detection facilities at all. They're gonna be in for a lot of hurt. These are bad people.'

Commenting on the role of European nations, he added, 'Some of the European nations have been helpful, and some haven't--and I'm very surprised. Germany's been great... Spain has been terrible. In fact, I told Scott to cut off all dealings with Spain,' he said, adding, 'By the way, I'm not happy with the UK either.'

During a meeting at the Oval Office with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said, 'We have a meeting with a man who's become a friend of mine. We'll obviously be talking a little bit about Iran. We're talking about some very big trade deals.'

Later, German Chancellor Merz said, 'We are on the same page in terms of getting this terrible regime in Tehran away.'

This comes amid heightened tensions after the US and Israeli in coordinated airstrikes across multiple Iranian cities on February 28, targeting military command centres, air-defence systems, missile sites, and key regime infrastructure.

These strikes resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and four senior military and security officials, with large explosions reported in Tehran and other major cities.

In response, Iran also retaliated by launching ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, further widening the conflict in the Middle East and heightening risks for civilians and expatriates alike. (ANI)