U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened new attacks against Iran, warning that the United States will launch a “powerful strike” against the country, while indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran on a possible peace agreement continue.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump once again claimed that Iran’s defensive capabilities had been significantly weakened.
“The United States will hit Iran very hard tonight,” Trump wrote, adding that Iran’s navy, air force, radar systems and air defence had already been severely degraded.
The U.S. president also threatened that the United States could take control of Iran’s energy infrastructure and its oil and gas market.
“In the not-too-distant future, we will take over Kharg Island and the rest of the oil infrastructure and assume full control of their oil and gas market, similar to what we did with Venezuela, which has worked out very well for both Venezuela and the United States,” Trump stated.
Meanwhile, U.S. and Iranian forces continued to exchange attacks, although diplomatic contacts between the two countries have not been severed. After Trump earlier called on Tehran to immediately agree to a peace deal, Iranian sources indicated that discussions on a preliminary draft agreement had intensified.
According to Reuters, three Iranian sources and one European official confirmed that the United States and Iran are exchanging messages regarding the details of a potential agreement. Among the unresolved issues is a mechanism for the release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets.
One Iranian source described the current conflict as “a military stalemate” and said that the United States would not be able to achieve its objectives solely through military action against Iran.
The same source added that progress is nevertheless being made in the negotiations between the two sides.
Trump has previously stated on several occasions that a deal with Iran is close, but U.S. officials have so far declined to comment on the latest developments in the indirect talks between Washington and Tehran.
