Donald Trump warns Iran of ‘nasty’ US action as negotiations enter ‘final stages’
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US was in the “final stages” of negotiations with Iran and warned that Washington could do something “a little bit nasty” if Tehran refuses to sign a deal.Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews while travelling to Groton, Connecticut, Trump said, “We’re in the final stages with Iran. We’ll see what happens. Either they have a deal or we’re going to do some things that are a little bit nasty, but hopefully that won’t happen.”Trump’s remarks came as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stressed the importance of diplomacy and mutual respect in dealing with Tehran.In a post on X, Pezeshkian said, “Iran has consistently honored its commitments and explored every avenue to avert war; all paths remain open from our side. Forcing Iran to surrender through coercion is nothing but an illusion. Mutual respect in diplomacy is far wiser, safer, and more sustainable than war.”Referring to the ongoing tensions with Iran, Trump compared the current situation with previous US military conflicts and said the conflict involving Iran had lasted only a few months.“We’ll see what happens. Look at it this way: you were in Vietnam for 19 years, you were in Afghanistan for 10 years, you were in Iraq for 12 years, you were in Korea for 7 years. World War II was different, that was four years. I’ve been in for three months, and much of it has been a ceasefire. And you know what? We lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers in these other wars,” he said.Trump also said that major developments were ahead during the remaining years of his presidency.“In two wars, Venezuela, where we lost nobody, and here, we lost 13 people. Now, 13 people is 13 too many, but we lost 13 people. In other wars, you lost hundreds of thousands of people. So people don’t like it when you say, “Oh, do you know you’ve lost 13 people?” I’ve lost 13 people. They lost 13 people leaving an airport. Obama lost 13 very good people then that I got to know their families. So what we’ve done is amazing. We have them decimated. Iran is decimated. You’re going to see things that are amazing. You’re going to see a lot of amazing things over the next three years for our country,” he said.During the interaction, Trump also praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defended his leadership.“Netanyahu will do whatever I want him to do. He’s a very good man. Don’t forget, he was a wartime Prime Minister, and he’s not treated right in Israel, in my opinion. Right now, I’m at 99% in Israel. I could run for Prime Minister, so maybe after I do this, I’ll go to Israel and run for Prime Minister. I had a poll this morning, I’m at 99%. But no, he’s a wartime Prime Minister. I just don’t think they treat him well. I think they have a president over there that treats him very poorly. If somebody comes along, I’d look. It’s a little late in the race, but if somebody comes along, I’d look,” he said.
