Refusing to accept the proposal of Iran to end the two-month conflict in the Middle East, US President Donald Trump has once again reiterated that there will be no peace deal with the Islamic Republic unless they agree to give up its nuclear programme and address Washington’s concern. He also said the naval blockade of Iran will continue for now.
In an interview with Axios on Wednesday, the Republican leader also claimed that Iran wants a deal with the US to lift the blockade, which he said is “more effective than the bombing”. Trump also added that Iran’s oil storage and pipelines “are getting close to exploding” as the Middle East nation is unable to export its crude because of the US blockade.
“The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing. They are choking like a stuffed pig. And it is going to be worse for them. They can’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “They want to settle. They don’t want me to keep the blockade. I don’t want to [lift the blockade], because I don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump, who returned to office after his victory in the 2024 US presidential elections, said the negotiations with Iran are ongoing, though. The US president said it is time for the Middle East nation to “cry uncle” and say “we give up.”
“The question is whether or not they are gonna go far enough. At this moment there will never be a deal unless they agree that there will never be nuclear weapons,” Trump told Axios in the interview.
Iran warns of unprecedented response
While Trump continues to threaten Iran in a bid to force it to accept the peace deal, the Islamic Republic has warned the US over the blockade, which it claimed is a part of a conspiracy to destabilise the Iranian regime. An Iranian media outlet also said the US blockade “will soon be met with practical and unprecedented action.”
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has also affirmed that a “deceitful plan” of the US would be defeated and Trump’s plan of an “internal discord” in the country through the blockade would never succeed.
“The enemy has entered a new phase and wants to activate economic pressure and internal division through naval blockade and media hype to weaken or even make us collapse from within,” he said.ย ย
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