Trump ‘prepared to unleash hell’ as talks stall
The US administration has delivered a warning to Iran, saying they are prepared to “hit harder than they have ever been hit before” if the nation does not agree to a peace deal.
Source: Sky News
President Donald Trump is “prepared to unleash hell” unless Iran agrees to a peace deal, the US administration has warned.
The US has presented Iran with a 15-point plan to end the war in the Gulf.
It was delivered by Pakistan, which is acting as an intermediary.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday (AEDT) that if Iran refused to come to a deal, the country could face more violence.
“If they fail to understand that they have been defeated militarily and will continue to be, President Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before,” she said at the White House.
“President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell.”
Leavitt said Iran “should not miscalculate again”.
“Their last miscalculation cost them their senior leadership, their navy, their air force and their air defence system,” she said.
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“Any violence beyond this point will be because the Iranian regime refused to understand they have already been defeated and refused to come to a deal.”
However, Iran has publicly slammed the US proposal as “excessive” and issued its own list of conditions for peace. Its Press TV cited an unidentified official, saying Iran had rejected the US deal.
“Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met,” the official said.
The BBC cited an official outlining Iran’s own five conditions to end the war:
- A complete halt to “aggression and assassinations” by the enemy;
- Concrete mechanisms to ensure the war is not reimposed on the Islamic Republic;
- Guaranteed and clearly defined payment of war damages and reparations;
- The conclusion of the war across all fronts and for all resistance groups involved throughout the region;
- International recognition and guarantees regarding Iran’s sovereign right to exercise authority over the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices fell and shares regained some ground after reports that the US had sent the 15-point plan to Iran. Investors want an end to a war that has killed thousands of people and disrupted global energy supplies.
The senior Pakistani security official said Pakistani intelligence had delivered the US proposal to Iran, and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had followed up with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.
So far there had been no response from the Iranian side or any confirmed dates or venue for talks, the official said.
Residential buildings in northern Tehran destroyed in a joint Israeli and US military operation. Photo: AAP
Three Israeli cabinet sources said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet had been briefed on the US proposal.
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They said its terms included removing Iran’s stocks of highly enriched uranium, halting enrichment, curbing its ballistic missile program and ending funding for regional allies.
The Pentagon is meanwhile planning to send thousands of airborne troops to the Gulf to give Trump more options to order a ground assault, sources have told Reuters, adding to two contingents of Marines already on their way.
The first Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard a huge amphibious assault ship could arrive around the end of the month.
Pakistan has offered to host talks attended by senior US officials as soon as this week.
A senior ruling party official in Turkey, Harun Armagan, told Reuters that the country was also “playing a role passing messages” between Iran and the US.
A senior Israeli defence official said Israel was sceptical Iran would agree to the terms, and that it was concerned that US negotiators might make concessions in any talks.
The war has raged on with no let-up in air attacks against Iran, or in Iranian drone and missile strikes against Israel and US allies.
An Israeli military official, asked whether Israel had adjusted its military plans since Trump said talks were under way, said it was “pretty much business as usual”.
The Israeli military described several waves of attacks on Iran during the day, including one on Iran’s construction of ships and submarines.
Iranian SNN News Agency said a residential area was hit in Tehran, with rescuers searching the rubble.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia said they had repelled drone attacks.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had launched attacks against Israel and US bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain.
-with AAP
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