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President Donald Trump said Iran was just weeks away from producing a nuclear weapon before U.S. forces struck its nuclear facilities, declaring that Tehran’s capabilities have since been devastated and that the regime is now facing mounting military and economic pressure.

Speaking in an interview with British journalist Bev Turner on GB News that aired Thursday, Trump said preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons remains the central objective of the U.S. campaign. He said three known Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and indicated that Washington is closely watching activity at another location known as Pickaxe Mountain.

“Well, they had three sites and now they may have Pickaxe Mountain. But the three sites have been obliterated. But we have a thing called Space Force, which is very effective, that I started in my first term. Very effective. And we have cameras on every major area of the first three. And we also have cameras on Pickaxe Mountain. And we know everybody that walks in and walks out. We can read the name…so we know everything that’s going on. So we’re very certain.”

.@POTUS: We have to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon, and we've done that. We've defeated their navy, their air force, their leadership structure. We have control over the Hormuz Strait. Their money is valueless. They're in big trouble. pic.twitter.com/BXYgpNqsJR

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 3, 2026

Trump told Turner that the U.S. military action was also protecting Britain and other European countries, contending that an Iranian nuclear weapon could pose an even more immediate danger to Europe because Tehran possesses missiles capable of reaching European targets.

“I’m saving your country from the threat, too, because if Iran had a nuclear weapon, they’re more likely to use it in Europe, where they do have missile capability, than they are to America where they don’t. And I’m saving your country from a problem because they would use it.”

According to Trump, Iran had come within as little as two to four weeks of obtaining a nuclear weapon. He also pointed to his withdrawal from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action during his first term, saying that abandoning the Obama-era nuclear agreement prevented Iran from reaching that point years earlier.

“They were two weeks, maybe four weeks away from having a nuclear weapon. And we attacked them with the bombers. I also did something else in my first term. I ended the Obama, the JCPOA – that’s the agreement, the Obama nuclear disaster, where it was basically a short road to a nuclear weapon. And they would have had a nuclear weapon five years ago if I didn’t terminate that. I terminated the deal. But then, very importantly, a year and a couple of months ago, we attacked them at those three big sites where they had lots of nuclear dust, I call it. It’s material that will could easily be turned into a nuclear weapon. It went through the whole process and it’s now buried under millions of tons of mountain, and will be very hard to get to.”

Addressing the broader conflict in the Middle East, Trump said his primary concern is ensuring that Tehran never acquires nuclear weapons. He also claimed that Iran’s conventional military capabilities and leadership have suffered enormous damage.

“The Middle East has “been a problem for 2,000 years. They’ve been fighting. Look, I’m there because we have to stop them from having a nuclear weapon. And it is the Middle East. And we’ve done that. We’ve defeated their Navy. We defeated their Air Force. We’ve defeated them. Their leaders are gone. Everything is gone.”

Trump also discussed the latest round of American strikes against Iran, saying U.S. forces had targeted Iranian radar systems while maintaining control over the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. He portrayed Tehran as facing severe economic deterioration alongside its battlefield losses.

“We took out their radar. They just put new radar in,” Trump said when referencing the strikes. “We control the Hormuz Strait.We have great control over the Hormuz Strait. We’re taking out 30, 40 boats a night and a lot of oil is coming out of there. So we control the Hormuz Strait and their economy is crashing. Their inflation could be 300 percent. Their money is valueless. It’s two million to one or something like that. And it’s going up every day. So they’re in big trouble.”

Trump’s comments to GB News aired one day after he told reporters that he believes the latest phase of the confrontation with Iran may be approaching its conclusion.

When asked how much longer he expected the renewed fighting to continue, Trump replied, “Not too long”.

He then questioned how much longer Tehran could withstand the intensity of the American military campaign.

“I don’t think it will be very much longer. I don’t know how much more they can take,” Trump said of Iran.

At the same time, the president made clear that Washington is prepared to continue striking Iranian targets if circumstances warrant additional military action.

“It was a very heavy attack last night, and we are prepared to do another one anytime we want,” he stressed.

Trump returned to the subject during an event in the Rose Garden later Wednesday, where he said the latest American operations had inflicted substantial losses on Iran and significantly weakened its ability to continue fighting.

The president said the U.S. campaign is intended to protect Israel, the broader Middle East and the United States from the threat posed by Iran, warning that Tehran’s ambitions would extend far beyond Israel if left unchecked.

“We’re doing it to help the Middle East, we’re doing it to help Israel, we’re doing it to help ourselves, because after they annihilate Israel, which they would’ve done very gladly, and then the Middle East, then they come after Europe and they come after some of our cities before we put them away.”

{Matzav.com}

[Video below.] President Donald Trump used a White House dinner to address a question that has followed him for years, insisting that his famous hair is entirely his own and pointing to a brutally windy 2024 campaign rally as proof.

Speaking during a Rose Garden dinner, Trump recalled campaigning for Republican Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno in 2024 under extraordinarily harsh weather conditions, which he described as “the worst weather I think I’ve ever experienced outside of maybe a hurricane we had in Florida one time.”

“I went up to the speaker, and it was blowing so hard,” he said. “You know, for years, I had to suffer with people saying, ‘He wears a wig.’”

Trump said the powerful gusts that night should have put any lingering speculation about his hair to rest.

“I don’t wear a wig. But that night, they found out I did not wear a wig because if you did, it was not going to be on your head very long,” Trump continued.

The president recalled that the conditions were so severe that even the teleprompters were blown from the stage as he made his way to the podium.

Contemporary accounts of the March 2024 rally backed up Trump’s recollection of the weather. The Associated Press described the campaign event in Vandalia, Ohio, as taking place on a “wind-whipped airfield.”

The subject of Trump’s hair resurfaced recently amid his long-running feud with comedian Rosie O’Donnell, who claimed during an August appearance as a guest host of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that the president wears a wig.

“You’ve got to realize it’s time to hang up your wig and let Natalie tuck you in,” she said during her third night filling in for Jimmy Kimmel.

The Natalie mentioned by O’Donnell was White House aide Natalie Harp.

O’Donnell also took another swipe at Trump’s hair while performing a song during her guest-hosting stint, which included the line, “Your wig’s a mess.”

Trump’s insistence that his hair is real stretches back more than a decade. During his 2015 presidential campaign, he publicly rejected claims that he wore a hairpiece, telling an audience, “I don’t wear a toupee; it’s my hair, I swear.”

“This is getting crazy,” he said as he pulled on his hair.

To further make his case, Trump invited a woman from the audience onto the stage to inspect his hair herself. After doing so, she confirmed the future president’s assertion that it was real.

WATCH:

{Matzav.com}

Matzav.com has obtained photos released by the White House documenting President Donald Trump’s meeting in the Oval Office with several rabbonim representing some Jewish communities in the United States.

The delegation included the Satmar Rebbes, the Bobover Rebbe, the Vizhnitz-Monsey Rebbe, representatives of the Skverer community, and R’ Malkiel Kotler.

President Trump hosted the delegation for approximately 30 minutes in the Oval Office. During the meeting, the president conveyed warm wishes to the Jewish community ahead of Rosh Hashanah and discussed a range of matters affecting Orthodox Jewish communities across the United States.

According to sources, it was the first such joint gathering since 1979.

In addition to their Oval Office meeting with President Trump, members of the delegation met with Vice President JD Vance and Rep. Mike Lawler.

{Matzav.com}

Kamala Harris said Thursday that she supports Democratic candidates who believe keeping her away from their campaigns will improve their chances in November, responding to reports that several Democrats running in states won by President Donald Trump do not want the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee campaigning alongside them.

During an interview with MS NOW’s Peter Alexander, Harris was shown a Politico headline that read, “Kamala Harris is wading into the midterms. Red state Dems want her to stay away,” and was asked to address the apparent reluctance among some members of her own party to have her involved in their races.

“Politico reports that you are wading into some of the midterms and that red state, not blue or purple state, but red state Democrats in states that Donald Trump won are encouraging you to stay away for fear it could impact their races there. Your response to some of that reporting?”

Harris responded that winning control in the midterms was more important than whether individual candidates wanted her assistance. She pointed to her experience campaigning for local, statewide and national office and said candidates themselves are best positioned to determine what will help them politically.

“Listen, Peter, we need to win, OK? Bottom line, we need to win. I have run locally, I’ve run for statewide office and, obviously, nationally. And these candidates know what they need to do to win, and I would expect nothing less.

“I look forward to being on the trail and helping folks where I can be helpful, but we have got to put a check on this lawless administration and deliver what Americans need and deserve. Lower costs, affordable healthcare, affordable childcare, you name it. So, I support them in doing whatever they need to do to win.”

Harris was also pressed on whether her campaign appearances this year could eventually lead to another presidential bid in 2028. She declined to engage the question directly, saying, “I’m focused on ’26,” adding, “’28 doesn’t matter if we don’t win ’26.'”

Politico reported that the resistance to Harris appearing on the campaign trail extends to several closely watched races. According to the outlet, “Iowa’s two most prominent Democratic candidates have said they do not want Harris to campaign for them. Alaska’s Democratic Senate nominee rejected a fundraising solicitation Harris sent on her behalf. And a swing-district Democrat in Wisconsin and a long-shot Senate hopeful in Kansas both told Politico they would prefer Harris keep her distance.”

Among the Democrats distancing themselves from Harris is Rebecca Cooke, who is challenging Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden in western Wisconsin. Cooke has sought to appeal to working-class and conservative-leaning voters and emphasized that she performed better than Harris in her district during the 2024 election.

“I received 9,000 more votes than Harris in 2024,” said Democrat Rebecca Cooke, who is running against Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden in western Wisconsin. “I don’t need anyone to come and campaign with me in my district. I do the work of building relationships — including across the aisle — on my own.”

The unease over Harris’ involvement in competitive races comes as Democrats continue debating the party’s direction following the 2024 election and how best to appeal to swing voters. Democratic consultant Julian Epstein told Fox News Digital that the tensions surrounding Harris reflect a broader problem within the party.

“The problem with postmodern Democrats is that they lack self-awareness, especially when it comes to swing voters needed to win most elections,” Epstein said.

Epstein argued that centrist Democrats view Harris as both politically ineffective and ideologically too liberal to help candidates competing in more conservative areas.

“Moderate Democrats don’t want Kamala because they think she’s an empty suit who can’t answer tough questions. They also think she’s way too far left. When confronted, Democrats have this reflex of deflecting, saying what’s really important is doubling down on a bloated welfare state, the same welfare state expansionism that failed us during the Biden years.”

Elizabeth Pipko, a former national spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, said the fact that Democratic candidates are publicly distancing themselves from Harris underscores the political difficulties surrounding her record and future role in the party.

“It’s a sad state of affairs when the former vice president is asked to remain off of the campaign trail because so many Democrats believe her record and unpopularity will hurt their chances in their own races. Harris’ answer was extremely weak and awkward considering she is now publicly both toying with the idea of running for president again and being rejected by members of her own party,” she said.

Pipko also pointed to Harris’ unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign, which ended before voting began in the Democratic primaries.

“We can’t forget that when Kamala Harris did in fact run for president, and her fate was left in the hands of the voters, she ended up dropping out of the 2020 Democratic primary before a single vote was cast,” she added further.

Pipko argued that Harris’ path to national prominence came through her selection as Joe Biden’s running mate in 2020 and her elevation to the top of the Democratic ticket after Biden withdrew from the 2024 race.

“Kamala Harris was never chosen by the American public to represent them nationally. She was picked by Joe Biden in 2020 after he committed to picking a woman as his vice president. And then she was handed the top of the ticket again when Biden dropped out before the 2024 election. Not only does she carry that baggage, but she knows that the American people have continuously rejected her.

“All of this also highlights the lack of leadership in the Democrat party today. Considering Biden’s age and health, she should be the obvious choice to lead the party, and yet it seems Democrats want to avoid that at all costs.”

{Matzav.com}

Degel HaTorah chairman MK Moshe Gafni charged Thursday that senior Finance Ministry officials had repeatedly threatened to withhold funding from yeshivos and the olam haTorah in an effort to pressure him into abandoning his support for Israel’s regional councils and agricultural sector.

Gafni leveled the accusation during a gathering of regional council heads and political party leaders at the Regional Government Center, where he stressed that he has consistently backed local authorities and agricultural communities, including on occasions when their interests conflicted with positions taken by Finance Ministry officials.

Addressing those gathered, Gafni rejected any suggestion that his political decisions were dictated exclusively by the interests of the Chareidi community and said he had faced direct pressure because of positions he took on behalf of other sectors.

“I have never been bought off by sectoral interests, and make no mistake about that,” Gafni declared. “There were many times when Finance Ministry officials directly threatened me that if I supported the regional councils, agriculture, and issues important to you, they would freeze funding for yeshivas and the Torah world.”

Gafni said those threats did not cause him to change course and vowed that similar pressure would not influence his decisions going forward.

“I stood up to them. I did not give in then, and no one should think I will give in in the future.”

The veteran Degel HaTorah leader went on to describe the strengthening of Israel’s peripheral communities and agricultural sector as an important national priority, pledging to continue advocating for the regional councils.

“I have always supported you and will continue to help you with all my strength. The regional councils and Israeli agriculture are a critical and central pillar of the State of Israel’s resilience.”

Looking ahead to the government that will be formed following the upcoming elections, Gafni said regional authorities should receive greater attention and resources, including reforms designed to give local councils the ability to properly carry out their responsibilities.

“The next government to be formed will need to prioritize strengthening regional government, and advance genuine reforms that provide the councils with all the tools and resources they need to function, and I will be there to make sure that happens.”