During an interview aired on Friday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” President Donald Trump stated that there isn’t any need for Iran to have a civilian nuclear program and “nuclear’s fine for civil, if you have a country with no oil.”
Host Bret Baier asked, [relevant exchange begins around 5:45] “[Y]ou said it was close the other day, you said it was close to a deal. So, does that mean that they’re going to enrich at any level, like a civilian level?”
Trump responded, “No, I think they want to make a deal. You say to yourself — they have massive oil by the way. They have oil that lasts for 300 years. They have a lot of oil. People don’t realize they’re one of the biggest in the world. And it’s very good oil, meaning it’s pure, perfect stuff. They don’t have to spend a fortune on gasses and energy in order to melt the rock and everything. They have pure, unadulterated, good oil. And you say, why does somebody that has that kind of oil — other than being politically correct — but when you have unlimited amounts of oil and gas, why are you putting up — why do you need civil nuclear? I just don’t see it.”
Trump added, “I think nuclear’s fine for civil, if you have a country with no oil. But if you’re sitting on one of the largest piles of oil in the world, why are you talking about putting up nuclear civil?”
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