US President Trump warns Iran of more strikes

Ankara, July 8 (IANS) US President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned Iran that the United States was prepared to launch further military strikes and even reimpose a naval blockade if Tehran continued its attacks, while declaring that he no longer believed negotiations over its nuclear programme were worth pursuing despite leaving the door open for his envoys to keep talking.

Speaking during separate appearances with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and later Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump defended the latest US military action against Iranian targets, accused Tehran of violating a pause requested for funeral ceremonies and suggested the current diplomatic framework had effectively collapsed.

Trump said Iran had resumed hostile actions after the United States had temporarily held back military operations.

“They said to us, please don’t kill us during the funeral. I said I won’t. We didn’t. In fact, we made it safe for them, actually,” Trump said.

He added that Iran had instead resumed attacks.

“They started shooting rockets at ships yesterday,” he said.

“So we hit them very hard last night, very hard. I would say 20 to one, 20 times tougher. And I told them, ‘Every time you hit, we hit.'”

Asked whether his earlier remarks meant a return to full-scale hostilities, Trump repeatedly avoided giving a direct answer, but warned that more strikes could follow.

“We’ll probably hit ’em hard tonight, I’ll give ’em a little warning,” he said.

Later, he said he had instructed the US military to broaden its targeting during the latest operation.

“I told the military to don’t hit the pipes but hit everything else” on Kharg Island, Iran’s principal oil export terminal. He also disclosed that Tehran had sought what he described as a “time out” during funeral proceedings before resuming attacks.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said US forces had targeted Iranian military assets involved in threatening commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

“Last night… a lot of small craft that they were trying to harass shipping with, so that was a big part of what we targeted,” Hegseth said.

“Underground facilities where they were storing drones or missiles, coastal defence sites, radar sites, surveillance sites, anything used to harass shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.”

He added: “Tonight, if we need to on your order, Mr President, we will hit even more.”

Trump also suggested Washington could again impose a maritime blockade targeting Iran.

“We put down the blockade, we may put it back, the blockade, and it’ll only be a blockade for Iran,” he said.

The President struck a pessimistic tone on diplomacy, saying he had little confidence in future negotiations with Tehran.

“It’s a very interesting question. To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore,” Trump said when asked whether the ceasefire and memorandum of understanding with Iran remained in effect.

“They’re scum. They’re sick people. They’re led by sick people. And they’re vicious, violent people. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they’d use it. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”

Trump accused Iranian leaders of negotiating in bad faith.

“They’re liars. We make a deal… Everyone’s agreed. No nuclear weapon. We make a deal. They go outside, talk to the press, they say, ‘We never even talked about it.'”

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them.”

At the same time, he stopped short of formally ending diplomacy, saying his Middle East envoys could continue discussions.

“Steve is great, and Jared is great… they’re the right guys. And we’ll see what happens,” Trump said, referring to Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

“I’ll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don’t see it.”

Earlier, standing alongside Rutte, Trump described Iran as “the number one state sponsor of terror” and defended the latest military action as part of his administration’s objective of preventing Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

“We’re gonna de-nuke it. We’re not gonna let them, because they’re crazy and they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

Rutte publicly backed the US response, saying the strikes were justified after attacks on international shipping.

“I think what you did last night was absolutely necessary. It was a very strong response,” the NATO Secretary General said, adding that degrading Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities was “crucial for Israel, the region, for Europe… for the whole world.”

–IANS

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