Trump Issues Stark Warning to Iran as Middle East Tensions Escalate

(US President Donald Trump. Photo by Thecable)

US President Donald Trump has declared that Iran has taken too long to reach a negotiated settlement and will now “have to pay the price,” marking a sharp shift in tone from his remarks just a day earlier.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed that the Iranian military had been “completely defeated” and declared the country’s regional influence finished.

“The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!! They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!” he wrote.

The statement stands in stark contrast to comments he made to reporters on Tuesday, in which he described peace negotiations as being in their “final throes” and suggested a resolution could come within “two or three days.”

The escalation followed an exchange of fire between the US and Iran. Late on Tuesday, US forces carried out strikes against Iran in retaliation for the d0wning of an American helicopter on Monday, with explosions reported along Iran’s southern coast.

US Central Command confirmed that the strikes targeted command and control, defence, and surveillance stations.

Iran subsequently said it had att@cked American bases in Jordan and Bahrain on Wednesday, further straining a ceasefire that had been in place since April.