(AFP) – US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Iran has taken too long to negotiate a deal over the conflict in the Middle East and will now “have to pay the price.” Trump’s social media post, in which he asserted that the Iranian military has been “completely defeated,” came after the United States and Iran exchanged fire, straining a ceasefire that took effect in April.
“The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!! They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. Separately, Trump told Fox News journalist Trey Yingst in a phone interview that because peace talks have failed to make progress, he is getting closer to targeting Iran’s power plants and bridges.
“I may keep going,” Trump was quoted by Fox as saying. “They had a chance to sign a deal and survive.” It marked a contrast with his comments to reporters on Tuesday that negotiations on an enduring settlement to end the war were in their “final throes,” and could be wrapped up in “two or three days.”
In another social post on Wednesday, Trump praised the US blockade of Iranian shipping, calling it “the most successful” in history while labeling it a “steel wall.” He claimed that the blockade had halted Iranian business and prevented it from paying military wages, while still allowing other countries to export “lots of oil.” “Praise be to Allah!” Trump wrote.
Late on Tuesday, US forces said they carried out strikes against Iran in retaliation for the downing of an American helicopter on Monday, with explosions reported by Iranian media along its southern coast. US Central Command later said that the US Air Force and Navy had command and control, defense and surveillance stations. Iran said it had attacked American bases in Jordan and Bahrain on Wednesday.
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