Washington: US President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that the United States is prepared to launch further military strikes against Iran if Tehran refuses to agree to a peace deal, raising fears of renewed conflict in the Middle East.
Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Trump said the situation was “right on the borderline” and could escalate rapidly if negotiations failed to produce what he called the “right answers.”
“Believe me, if we don’t get the right answers, it goes very quickly. We’re all ready to go,” Trump said. When asked how long Washington was willing to wait before taking action, he replied: “It could be a few days, but it could go very quickly.
”The remarks come six weeks after Trump paused “Operation Epic Fury” under a ceasefire arrangement. However, diplomatic talks aimed at ending the conflict have reportedly made little progress, while rising gasoline prices in the United States have increased domestic political pressure on the administration.
Trump reiterated that Washington would not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.
“We’re in the final stages of Iran. We’ll see what happens. Either have a deal or we’re going to do some things that are a little bit nasty, but hopefully that won’t happen,” he said earlier in the day.
“Ideally I’d like to see few people killed, as opposed to a lot. We can do it either way.”
Iran responded with strong warnings against any renewed military action.
In a statement, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that if attacks on Iran were repeated, the “promised regional war” would expand beyond the Middle East.
At the same time, Tehran announced the launch of a new body called the “Persian Gulf Strait Authority” to oversee and control maritime traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil shipping routes.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also spoke with Trump and welcomed the extension of the ceasefire.
According to Ankara, Erdogan told the US president that he believed a “reasonable solution” to the crisis remained possible.
Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf claimed that both “obvious and hidden moves by the enemy” indicated the United States was preparing for another round of attacks.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that Tehran remains open to negotiations but rejected the idea that pressure or threats could force Iran into surrender.“Forcing Iran to surrender through coercion is nothing but an illusion,” Pezeshkian wrote in a post on X.