US President Donald Trump on 1 August declared that the United States would press on with military action against Iran until Tehran is no longer capable of threatening American forces or developing a nuclear weapon, while openly expressing eroding confidence in the prospects of a negotiated settlement. The remarks came after Trump chaired what the White House described as the first live televised Cabinet meeting ever held at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.

Trump's Warning to Tehran

Speaking to reporters following the Cabinet session, Trump signalled that the military campaign against Iran would intensify before any diplomatic breakthrough. 'Well, we'll be hitting — we'll be hitting them very hard and, you know, at some point they're going to say, we just can't take it anymore,' he said when asked what to expect in the coming weeks.

Trump reiterated that denying Iran a nuclear weapon remained Washington's primary objective. 'They cannot have a nuclear weapon. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon, and they can't have a nuclear weapon,' he said. 'If they did, the Middle East would have been wiped out by now.'

Iran's Military Losses, According to Trump

The President claimed Iran had sustained sweeping military losses, asserting that its naval and air capabilities had been effectively destroyed. 'They have no navy, they have no air force, they have no anti-aircraft. Doesn't mean they don't have any capability. They have some, but very little,' Trump said.

He elaborated: 'They had 159 ships. That was their entire Navy, 159. Their entire Navy is laying at the bottom of the sea. I'd say that's going big. They had 200 airplanes, they're all gone, every one of them.' These figures could not be independently verified at the time of the briefing.

Diplomacy Under Strain

Despite ongoing diplomatic contacts between the two sides, Trump cast doubt on Tehran's sincerity at the negotiating table. 'I guess you can. I mean, I'm losing faith in them because they do lie and do they do misrepresent,' he said when asked whether a diplomatic agreement remained possible.

Trump said talks had been further undermined after Iran reportedly launched missiles during negotiations. 'I got a call from Pete that they just shot five missiles at one of our bases in Jordan,' he said, adding that all five were intercepted by US forces. The incident, he argued, demonstrated Tehran's bad faith.

Hamas Disarmament and the Broader Regional Picture

Trump also connected the Iran campaign to what he described as progress on a proposed Hamas disarmament agreement. 'So we do have an understanding with Israel. Israel is very happy about it,' he said. 'Nobody thought that would be possible, to disarm Hamas.'

He framed the development as a direct consequence of military pressure on Iran, arguing that a deal of this nature would have been inconceivable several months earlier. This comes amid broader US efforts to reshape regional security arrangements involving Israel while tightening economic and military pressure on Tehran.

Ukraine, Russia, and Advanced Weapons Transfers

On the parallel conflict in Ukraine, Trump said the administration was continuing discussions over potential transfers of advanced US weapons — including Patriot air defence systems and Tomahawk missiles — but stressed such technology would be shared only with caution given its strategic sensitivity.

Addressing Russia's war against Ukraine, Trump said both Moscow and Kyiv would ultimately need to compromise. 'They're both going to have to make some concessions,' he said. 'Twenty-five thousand young, beautiful people, soldiers, mostly soldiers, are dying a month.'

With Iran's military reportedly degraded and diplomatic channels strained, the coming weeks will test whether Washington's three-pillar strategy of sanctions, military pressure, and selective diplomacy can force a settlement — or push the region deeper into confrontation.