Trump says Iran options are let Tehran fail economically or 'hit them really hard'

U.S. President Donald Trump accused Iran of being "devious negotiators" in an interview released late on Monday and described some of his current options in the war — "just bop along" and let Tehran fail economically or hit them "really, really hard."

"I'm sort of negotiating," Trump told Real America's Voice in a phone interview. "They're very devious negotiators."

Pakistan said on ⁠Tuesday the U.S. and Iran were close to "some sort" of deal, and Qatar said talks on managing the Strait of Hormuz were at an advanced stage, despite reports of new attacks on shipping in regional waters.

Trump described one of his possible strategies as: "Do what I'm doing now: just bop along and look how bad they're doing."

"Economically, they are a mess. They can't borrow money. We control their money, what they had, which is a lot. ⁠They had a lot, and we have total control of it. I'm their banker," he said, referring to frozen Iranian assets.

Another option would be to "Hit them really, really hard," Trump said.


Reuters