Here in the Mountain time zone we get Bret Baier live at 4 p.m., which isn't a convenient time to watch so we record it and watch it in the local 6-7 p.m. window. That explains why I just saw President Trump say the following, which I roughly paraphrase.
For at least 15 years I have been saying Iran cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons. I don't want to go to war. If shutting down their weapon development can be accomplished peacefully, fine. If not, then it still must happen.
My reading of what he said is the following. Iran surrenders and allows outsiders to destroy their nuclear program or we bomb it into rubble. Asked about regime change, he didn't show much interest. Trump is a long-time critic of "nation building," at which the US is not succeeded in the last half century.
Meanwhile, Trump is in no hurry to act. The longer the mullahs hold out in Iran, the more the Israelis degrade Iran's infrastructure, economy, and leadership with air strikes and assassinations. Letting this process continue for 2-3 more weeks has certain advantages.
