U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States would either reach an agreement with Iran or “finish the job,” repeating his threat of military action as Iran continued to show defiance following the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Indirect talks between the United States and Iran ended last week without any public sign of progress toward a lasting peace, despite a 60-day ceasefire that was intended to create room for diplomacy after U.S. and Israeli strikes triggered the conflict.
“We’re either going to make a deal or we’re going to finish the job. OK. And it won’t be tough to finish the job. I’d rather make a deal, because I don’t want to affect 91 million people,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“We can knock down their bridges in one hour. We can knock out their energy supply. They don’t have any money now. We haven’t given them any money.”
Trump made the remarks after Khamenei’s funeral over the weekend, where many Iranians appeared defiant, united and determined about the country’s future, rather than weakened by the war that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28.
The 60-day ceasefire was intended by Washington to restart diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear arsenal.
