Trump maintains US-Iran accord represents Tehran's full capitulation

During a Thursday Axios interview, President Trump declared unlimited authority and asserted regime change in Iran after removal of the prior leadership.

US President Donald Trump speaks before the VC-25B aircraft from Qatar set for Air Force One duty at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on June 19, 2026.

(photo credit: REUTERS/ELIZABETH FRANTZ)

ByGOLDIE KATZ, JERUSALEM POST STAFF

JUNE 20, 2026 20:21

Updated: JUNE 20, 2026 22:16

President Trump stated there are no bounds on his authority and viewed the Washington-Tehran Memorandum of Understanding as Iran's total surrender during a Thursday Axios interview.

"It really probably is unconditional surrender. I think so," Trump remarked regarding the MoU.

Trump stressed the harm inflicted on Iran's armed forces and top figures, such as former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and said he secured regime change by removing prior officials.

"And I sadly hurt the other ayatollah," Trump noted about current Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, whom he described as "different from the father."

"He's got a certain braveness because he was, he's badly injured," Trump said.

'Without Donald Trump, Israel would have been destroyed'

Trump labeled Iran's leaders "primitive geniuses" and called the US actions against Tehran "an excursion to stop a very vile little group of people."

"I had to stop them because if they had a nuclear weapon, they would use it," Trump declared, repeating that without his intervention Iran would have launched a nuclear strike on Israel.

"If it weren't for Donald Trump, Israel would have been eviscerated," the president stated.

He added that Iran would have targeted nuclear weapons at Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
When questioned on ties with Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump called the relationship "good."

"They have a lot of respect for me, and they do as I say," he said, asserting he can halt Israeli moves against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Trump asserts 'no limits' on presidential power

Asked whether the Iran conflict revealed any power constraints, Trump told Axios "there are no limits."
"I think that there are no limits. We have the most powerful military in the world, by far," he said.

Trump rejected claims he "wasn't tough enough" on Tehran, insisting Operation Epic Fury eliminated Iran's military, air force, air defenses, and navy.

"The only way I can get tougher is if I go in there for another two or three weeks and continue to bomb the hell out of them," he remarked, noting no gain from further action.

The Strait of Hormuz, Trump said, would reveal immediate effects from extended strikes on Iran.

"The Hormuz Strait would be totally closed. You would have mines all over it," he explained. "We wouldn't have oil for months."

"I have one primary wish as president in terms of people," Trump told Axios. "I never want to be the late, great Herbert Hoover. This is the kind of thing that could cause a worldwide depression."

With the US-Iran MoU now complete and the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping, Trump noted oil prices are "tumbling. The ships are roaring out of there... The stock market is way up, way, way up."

"Everybody is richer," he said, praising the accord's results.