President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned of further strikes against Iran while also saying a peace deal was “really close,” continuing a pattern of contradictory messaging that has marked the US-Iran war since it began, according to a review by The Guardian.
The latest escalation followed the downing of an American Apache helicopter off the coast of Oman by an Iranian drone on Monday, despite claims from Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that Iran lacked anti-aircraft capabilities. US officials said the military responded by striking more than 20 targets in Iran including radar and anti-aircraft sites.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said: “We’re gonna hit ‘em again hard today … and we’ll see what happens with a deal. We’re really close to a deal but they keep on tapping us along, they keep playing us for suckers.”
The US president also posted on Truth Social on Monday declaring “The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!!” and wrote that Iran “have taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!”
The Guardian reported that since the war began, Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with dire consequences unless Tehran signs a peace deal, while also claiming that a deal is “close” — a claim that a CNN tally put at 38 times. The US has previously declared “complete victory” in the conflict, yet the Strait of Hormuz remains closed to more than 20 percent of global oil traffic, The Guardian noted. Trump has also attacked reporters who have questioned the wisdom of the intervention.
Other leaders appear to be playing on the credibility gap within the administration. The Guardian reported that Trump said he planned to tell Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to retaliate against Iran this week, but when Israel did strike Iran, Trump claimed in a BBC interview that the “missiles had already gone.” He later denied that Netanyahu had defied him, adding that when he tells Netanyahu “to do something, he does it.”
Fox News reported Wednesday that Trump was again “inching” toward strikes on Iran’s civil and energy infrastructure — a campaign that many international observers have characterized as a potential war crime — without necessarily reopening the Strait of Hormuz or forcing the Iranian government to sue for peace.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, wrote in a statement: “Despite its defeats on the battlefield, the US opted to test our determination. Our powerful armed forces will leave no attack or threat unanswered. Leave our region if you want to be safe.”
The Trump administration remains stuck, unable to translate its military superiority into political acquiescence, with little indication of movement in negotiations other than the president’s posts to Truth Social, The Guardian reported.