US President Donald Trump told reporters that he does not believe that Israel would use nuclear weapons to solve its problems, DPA reported.
The agency notes that Trump said this, although Israel has never admitted that it possesses these deadly weapons.
When asked by a journalist about a comment made by US President's advisor David Sachs in a podcast in which he claimed that Israel could escalate the war and consider using nuclear weapons, Trump replied: “Israel will not do that. Israel will never do that.
For years, Israel has pursued a policy of deliberately maintaining ambiguity on the issue to avoid confrontation over its nuclear program. Senior Israeli politicians have repeatedly stressed that Israel would not be the first country in the Middle East to possess nuclear weapons.
According to estimates by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Israel possesses about 90 nuclear warheads.
Trump said he had asked to postpone his visit to China, originally scheduled for March 31-April 2, by about a month because of the war with Iran, Reuters reported.
“We asked to postpone it by about a month,“ Trump said.
In an interview with Fox News White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt said earlier yesterday that US President Donald Trump's meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping is not in danger, but could be postponed.
Any delay to Trump's scheduled March 31 visit to China risks increasing tensions between Washington and Beijing, Reuters notes. The Iran crisis has become another source of disagreement, along with trade and Taiwan, between the world's two largest economies.
The US president said that presidents should not have learning disabilities, stepping up his verbal attacks on California Governor Gavin Newsom in recent days, Reuters reported.
He cited Newsom's public discussion of his dyslexia - a learning and reading disorder - and suggested that such conditions should disqualify a person from the presidency.
Newsom is seen as a potential Democratic candidate for the 2028 presidential election and has often traded sharp remarks with Trump, who nicknamed the Californian "Newscomb" (translated from English - “new fraud“).
“Gavin Newsom admitted that he is - that he has a learning disability and a reading disability“, Trump told reporters at the White House.
“Honestly, I am all for people with learning disabilities and reading disabilities, but not my president. I don't want - I don't think a president should have a learning disability and a reading disability, is that clear?“ Trump said. “And I know it's very controversial to say such a terrible thing - about the president of the United States. Gavin Newsom admitted that he has a learning disability and a reading disability, dyslexia, everything about him is stupid“.
These comments are at least the third time in recent days that Trump has attacked Newsom over his dyslexia, which the governor has spoken about in interviews and in his book, Reuters notes.