After insisting for weeks that a peace deal between the United States and Iran is close, President Donald Trump has escalated his rhetoric against Tehran, suggesting that time has run out to reach a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
On Tuesday, the US military began striking targets inside Iran in response to the overnight downing of a helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has since suggested that the US attacks may continue.
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list of 3 itemsend of list“I may keep going,” the US president told Fox News on Wednesday. “They had a chance to sign a deal and survive.”
Later, at an Oval Office event, Trump told reporters, “We’re going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard.”
Iran has responded to the latest US strikes by launching missiles against bases that host US forces in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.
While such back-and-forth attacks over the past few weeks have remained contained and wrapped up quickly, Trump’s comments suggest that the latest episode of fighting may not be over. That, in turn, has raised questions about whether the April 8 ceasefire has unravelled.
Trump told Fox News that Iran is “tapping the US along” with talks that have not led to a long-term agreement.
He renewed his threat to bomb the country’s power plants and bridges, despite concerns that attacking civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime.
When asked about the threat during Wednesday’s Oval Office event, Trump said he would not confirm whether he planned to go ahead with the attacks. “But I could do that,” he said.
He also urged a swift conclusion to the ongoing US-Iran negotiations. “They should sign their deal,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Iran has been “completely defeated”, reiterating his claims of victory.
“They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price,” he said.
Iranian officials have stressed that they will not sign an agreement that does not recognise their country’s “rights”.
Tehran has also suggested that it is not afraid to return to war.
Despite Trump’s assertion that Iran is militarily defeated, Tehran has been able to respond to US attacks and maintain its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, which has sent energy prices soaring.
On Wednesday, Haji Babaei, deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament, said diplomacy will work only when the “demands of the Iranian nation” are met.
“America will lose in the economic and military war,” Babaei was quoted as saying by the state news agency, IRNA.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also said that Iran “must move” beyond the current state of “no war, no peace” in the region, but he stressed that his country “will not yield” in the face of threats.
“War is certainly not in the country’s interest, but if they seek to violate our dignity, our land and our territory, we will not surrender,” he said, according to IRNA.
Despite Trump’s hardening tone on Iran, he continues to face criticism at home for his handling of the war.
“This is your daily reminder that the President has lost total control of the Iran War and thus has lost interest,” Democratic Senator Chris Murphy wrote on the social media platform X on Wednesday.
“He now only obsesses over his ballroom and schemes to profit off the presidency while gas and grocery prices soar.”
Critics have noted that the US president has to contend with a busy domestic agenda that could dissuade him from fully resuming the war with Iran.
The US is cohosting the FIFA World Cup over the next five weeks. The country is also preparing for celebrations of the 250th anniversary of its independence, and the election campaign season for the November midterm election is heating up.
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