Washington, June 9: US President Donald Trump said that Iran was willing to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons and sign an agreement with the United States, as he claimed American military operations had severely weakened Tehran’s military capabilities.

Speaking during a virtual tele-rally for South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham ahead of Tuesday’s Republican primary, Trump devoted much of his remarks to Iran, ongoing negotiations and the broader security situation in the Middle East.

“We’re negotiating now and they wanna make a very good deal. They’re willing to give us everything. They’re willing to give us no nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and it’s as simple as that.”

Trump claimed US military action had inflicted extensive damage on Iran’s military infrastructure.

“We’ve decimated their military. We’ve decimated their, everything there is to decimate, including their leadership,” he said. “Their navy is totally gone. They had 159 ships. Every ship is underwater right now.”

The President predicted a favourable outcome from negotiations and said a formal declaration of victory could come soon.

“I think we are winning that battle, but you’re really gonna win it over the next two weeks when we declare total victory,” Trump said. “It’ll be a total victory. It’ll happen very soon and oil prices will come tumbling down.”

The remarks came as Trump urged Republican voters in South Carolina to support Graham, a longtime ally who has been one of the Senate’s most vocal advocates of a hard line towards Iran.

“And Lindsey has been fighting with me all the way, all the way for that,” Trump said. “We’ve been a very tough team.”

Trump also praised Graham’s role on border security, military spending and conservative judicial appointments.

“I’ve known Senator Lindsey Graham for many years and he’s always been a tireless advocate for the people of South Carolina,” Trump said.

The President described Graham as having his “complete and total endorsement” and urged voters to support him in Tuesday’s Republican primary.

Trump also endorsed South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette, calling her “an America first patriot” and predicting she would become a successful governor.

Jerusalem, June 8: US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone on Sunday after Iran fired missile barrages at Israel in response to airstrikes in Beirut, Israel’s state-owned Kan TV news reported.

Neither Netanyahu’s nor Trump’s office immediately commented on the call.

Before the call, Trump told Israel’s Channel 12 News that he would tell Netanyahu not to strike back because he did not want US-Iran ceasefire negotiations to collapse, Xinhua news agency reported.

“What I would suggest to Iran: You’ve shot your missiles, that’s enough,” Trump told Fox News. “Get back to the table and make a deal.”

Trump also claimed that Washington and Tehran had been close to reaching an agreement before Iran launched the missiles earlier in the day.

“We’re very close. I would say an agreement would be signed on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday of this coming week. And now this takes place,” he said.

“It’s certainly not going to help negotiations,” Trump said.

In another interview with US media outlet Axios, Trump said he will call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and press him not to retaliate for Iran’s missile attack.

“I am going to call Bibi right now and tell him not to retaliate. Each of them had their fun. Israel had its strike, and Iran had its strike. We don’t need another one,” Trump said.

According to CNN, Iran fired at least 10 ballistic missiles toward Israel in at least three separate waves on Sunday. The Israeli military said all of the missiles were intercepted.

Two Israeli sources cited by CNN said Israel would deliver a “powerful” response to the attack, raising concerns about further escalation in the region.

The Israeli military said Sunday night that Iran has so far fired four missile barrages towards the country.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. The missiles have triggered sirens across northern Israel.

Chennai, June 6 : Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) president Dr Anbumani Ramadoss has urged the Tamil Nadu government to immediately announce a comprehensive Kuruvai package and extend financial and infrastructural support to farmers, warning that the delayed release of water from the Mettur Dam could severely affect paddy cultivation across the Cauvery delta region.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Anbumani said the steadily declining water level in the Mettur reservoir, coupled with the absence of any significant southwest monsoon activity in the Cauvery catchment areas, has made it increasingly unlikely that water will be released from the dam on June 12, the traditional date for the commencement of Kuruvai cultivation.

Every year, water from the Mettur Dam is released into the Cauvery River to support paddy cultivation in more than 10 irrigation districts, including Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai. However, the reservoir currently holds only 41.60 TMC of water, with the water level standing at around 79 feet, far below the level considered ideal for irrigation release.

Anbumani noted that for a sustained release of water throughout the Kuruvai season, the reservoir level should exceed 90 feet and receive at least 1.5 TMC of inflow daily. He said a minimum of 12 TMC of additional storage and inflows of around 18,000 cusecs into the reservoir would be required to ensure uninterrupted irrigation.

The PMK leader also pointed out that Karnataka’s major Cauvery basin reservoirs currently hold only a fraction of their combined storage capacity. According to him, the Krishna Raja Sagar, Kabini, Harangi, and Hemavathi reservoirs together contain only 33.45 TMC of water, representing just 29.08 per cent of their total capacity of 114.57 TMC. Given these low storage levels, he said Karnataka is unlikely to release substantial quantities of water downstream.

Anbumani warned that if the Mettur Dam is not opened on schedule, the area under Kuruvai cultivation could fall below 3 lakh acres this year, compared to 6.13 lakh acres cultivated during the previous season. Such a decline, he said, would result in significant income losses for farmers and reduce employment opportunities for agricultural labourers.

To mitigate the impact, he called on the state government to encourage farmers to utilise groundwater resources and immediately roll out a Kuruvai package covering subsidised seeds, fertilisers and micronutrients.

He further demanded uninterrupted 24-hour three-phase power supply for agricultural operations and an input subsidy of Rs 5,000 per acre to support farmers facing uncertainty ahead of the cultivation season.