Trump: Deal with Iran or the US will ‘finish the job’
President Donald Trump stated on Monday that the United States would either come to an agreement with Iran or “finish the job,” reiterating his threat of military action as Tehran displays defiance following the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Indirect US-Iran talks concluded last week without any observable progress towards a sustainable peace, despite a 60-day ceasefire aimed at facilitating diplomatic efforts following the US and Israeli strikes that instigated the conflict. “We’re either going to make a deal or we’re going to finish the job. OK. And it won’t be tough to finish the job. I’d rather make a deal, because I don’t want to affect 91 million people,” Trump told in the Oval Office.
“We can knock down their bridges in one hour, we can knock out their energy supply…. They don’t have any money now. We haven’t given them any money.” Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr characterised Trump’s threat as “delusional.” Zolqadr stated in remarks “Iranians are unfamiliar with the language of threats. So speak to the Iranian people with respect, otherwise we will respond in another language.”
Trump spoke after Khamenei’s weekend funeral where, rather than appearing weakened by the war that commenced with US and Israeli strikes on February 28, Iranians seemed to be defiant, united, and resolute in shaping what comes next. The 60-day ceasefire was designed by Washington to rejuvenate diplomatic efforts aimed at halting Iran’s development of a nuclear arsenal.
