President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran would “pay the price” for refusing to accept the deal, as peace talks between the two nations continued to stall.
Inpost on social mediaTrump declared that Iran’s military is “a complete mess” and that most of it “doesn’t exist anymore.”
“They have failed miserably,” the president wrote. “Iran is all talk and no action. The bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!! They took too long to negotiate a deal that would have been good for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!
Trump did not provide additional details in his post,but he told Fox Newsthat he is “close” to ordering new attacks on Iran’s nuclear power plants and bridges.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But a senior White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive international negotiations, said that “negotiations are still ongoing” and the president “will continue to put a lot of pressure on to make a deal.”
“They should believe every word he says,” the official said. “They know what happens if there is no plan.”
The president’s threats come afterThe United States launched a new attack against IranTuesday evening after Tehran shot down a military helicopter. Iran responded withfiring at American targetsbeyond Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait.
In recent days, Trump and Vice President JD Vance had both insisted that a peace deal was close.
“We are in the final stages of what is going to be a very good deal,” Trump said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Vancehe told CBS Newsthat the deal will come “absolutely” before the crucial mid-term elections in November.
“Look, I think the deal could happen next week, but the deal could also happen months from now,” Vance said.
It is not the first time that administration officials have vowed that a deal is imminent. At the end of last month, Trump said the United States and Iran hada plan that is about to be completedplace, although few details of the alleged agreement were provided.
However, Trump has made it clear that the deal will not be signed unless Iran agrees to give up all of its nuclear capabilities.
With talks still stalled, the United States joined New Zealand, Australia, Canada and European allies on Wednesday in a joint statement condemning the Islamic Republic of Iran’s attacks on “Iranian dissidents, journalists and Jewish and Israeli communities.” The statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called on Iran to stop the attacks.
“Attempts to kill, kidnap, harass, intimidate, or otherwise attack people on our soil undermine national sovereignty and international norms,” the countries said. “These actions must stop immediately. We applaud the country’s work to deal with these activities, and we are determined together to take further steps to stop them.”
Megan Messerly contributed to this report.
