President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States could resume major military action against Iran if negotiations fail, telling reporters that Washington faces a choice between reaching a deal and “blow[ing] them up.”
“We have to make that decision: We blow them up or make a deal,” said Trump at the White House. “But the time is coming. It’s going to end very soon, one way or the other,” according to the Associated Press.
When asked how he could negotiate with Iranian officials he has called “crazy,” Trump said, “Maybe you blow them up.”
Trump’s comments came after Iran presented a proposal to end the war and got a US diplomatic channels response Iranian officials have said the two sides are mainly divided over the sequence and conditions for implementing a potential agreement.
Trump also said in an interview with Time magazine on Thursday that he had turned down Iran’s latest peace offer because it was not enough and left the door open to renewed bombing after Nov. 3 US midterm elections.
The war has convulsed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and driven up global energy prices as Washington contemplates further military deployments to the region.
