Trump: The Iranians have no army left and they know it

Shafaq News- Washington/ Tehran

US President Donald Trump said Thursday a peace deal with Iran was close, revealing that Iranian leaders were privately “far more accommodating” than their public posture suggested.

"They are much more rational in meetings and agreeing to everything they need to agree to," he told NBC News. "They speak completely differently behind closed doors than they do to the press."

"If there is no deal, it will be very painful for the Iranians," Trump said. "They have been crushed and no longer have an army."

The White House released a war tally earlier today showing US forces had destroyed more than 13,000 Iranian targets, eliminated over 155 naval vessels, hit 90% of Iran's weapons manufacturing facilities, and degraded 80% of its nuclear industrial base. Trump said US forces near Iran would remain in the region until a "real deal" was secured.

On Lebanon, Trump said he had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that Israel would "handle it quietly" as it scaled back operations -a signal that came as Washington was simultaneously rejecting some Iranian demands for ending the war as a precondition for the Islamabad talks. The ceasefire, announced Tuesday, is already under strain. Israel launched a fresh wave of strikes on Lebanon, and the gap between what Tehran wants before talks begin and what Washington is willing to offer has yet to close.