Trump Warns Iran Will Be ‘Hit Very Hard’ If They Fail to Strike Deal: ‘I Have No Choice’

President Donald Trump warned Iran it will be “hit very hard” if negotiations over reopening the Strait of Hormuz and nuclear ambitions collapse, claiming he’d have “no choice,” but “hopefully” the U.S. will not need to use that option.

Speaking in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Trump told host Trace Gallagher talks with Iranian officials were progressing, but he made clear that military action remained on the table if diplomacy failed.

“Iran, as an example, will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “They already can’t, it’s going to be formal, the Strait [of Hormuz] will be open soon, or they will be hit and then the Strait’s going to be open.”

The president had initially been asked about the arrest of an alleged assassin at his Trump National Golf Course in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, and ongoing threats on his life.

“Well, the only thing I get a little solace from is they say that only consequential presidents [face assassination threats] and I’m definitely consequential,” he replied, before pivoting to Iran: “If you look at the economy and what is happening. Iran, as an example, will never have a nuclear weapon.”

The president then relayed recent interactions, in which he had threatened “tremendous” strikes not seen since World War II, only to insist that Tehran pleaded for talks – a claim that Iran’s Foreign Ministry then denied.

“And they called me and said politely, ‘Please, can we talk?’ And I said, ‘Yes, we can talk. Let’s get it done. Finally, let’s get it done,’” he said, arguing the issue should have been resolved decades ago by previous administrations.

He singled out the approach of former President Barack Obama as he criticized the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.

“It should have been done by many presidents over many years and it wasn’t; I’m doing it all. Obama was taken to the cleaners, he thought he could bribe his way out, he gave them tens of billions of dollars, $1.7 billion in cash, green cash, on a Boeing 737, an airplane loaded with cash. They probably looked and said, ‘You have to be kidding.’ No, you can’t bribe your way out, you have to fight your way out. They would not be talking if we didn’t do what we’re doing. We hit them hard.”

“But the hard hit is yet to come,” he said. “Hopefully, we won’t have to use it. I hope we won’t have to use it.”

He added: “We’re having good discussions. You tell people like you, ‘We’re having wonderful discussions’ and some guy will come out of Iran and say, ‘We have not met’ – it is such a lie, all day long.”

“They will say, ‘We did not talk about nuclear.’ What did we talk about? We’re sitting there twiddling our thumbs, right?” he added.

Trump concluded by reiterating that he believed Tehran wanted an agreement, but warned the outcome ultimately depended on Iran’s next move: “So it doesn’t matter, that’s talk, all that matters is action, and they want to make a deal. We’ll see what happens. If they don’t make a deal, it’s going to be too bad.”

Watch above via Fox News.

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