Donald Trump said he is prepared to strike Iran if no agreement is reached by next Tuesday, April 7.
In an interview with Axios, he stressed that the United States is “holding serious talks” with Tehran and said a deal could be reached soon. “There is a good chance, but if they do not make a deal, I will blow everything up there,” he said.
Asked about possible civilian casualties, Trump said Iranians who oppose the authorities would “support such strikes to weaken the regime.” In his words, “They live in fear. They are afraid we will leave in the middle of the war, but we will not leave.”
As the outlet notes, over the past ten days Washington and Tehran have maintained indirect contacts through посредников—Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey. The talks focused on a ceasefire in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but “no substantial progress was made.”
Trump himself described the course of the dialogue as broadly positive, while acknowledging the difficulties: “The talks are going well, but with the Iranians you never quite get to the finish line.”
He also said that several days ago the two sides had come close to agreeing on direct talks. “But then they said they would meet with us in five days. I asked, ‘Why in five days?’ It seemed to me they were not serious. So I hit the bridge,” the president added.