Trump: unfair for Iran to lack ballistic missiles if other countries have them

PARIS - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that it would be unfair for Iran not to have ballistic missiles if other countries have them.

"I'm saying that if other countries have them, it's a little bit unfair for them not to have some," Trump told reporters in Paris.

"If Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and they all have some, I would say in relative proportion, I think it's okay."

Trump also said the United States would leave its military in the Gulf "for a while" after Washington struck a deal with Tehran to end its nearly four-month conflict in the region.

(Reporting by Steve Holland in Paris; Additional reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones, Jasper Ward and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Michelle Nichols)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 12:38 PM.