Trump: "The U.S. Will Hit Iran Hard Today"

President Donald Trump said this evening (Wednesday, Israel time), in a conversation with reporters at the White House: "We are going to hit Iran very hard. We will hit them with force today." Trump added: "We were close to a deal, but they deceived us. Iran needs to sign, I don’t know what they are doing. We will strike them today as well."

Reuters reported that, in response to reporters’ questions, Trump said that "the agreement with Iran has been finalized and is waiting for Tehran’s signature. They are dragging their feet. They know this is a document with real significance. We have the strongest military in the world, and sometimes you have to use it. They agreed that they would not have nuclear weapons. The 2015 agreement paved Iran’s way to nuclear weapons. The new agreement is meant to prevent that completely. They are conducting negotiations, but stalling for time."

He was asked about the forceful post he published, in which he said that because Iran had taken its time reaching an agreement, "they will have to pay the price," and replied: "Considering what happened to the helicopter, I assume we have the right to talk about it. They shot down an amazing aircraft. Truly an extraordinary aircraft. At first they claimed they didn’t do it, and then admitted that they did. We were very lucky that the bomb on the helicopter did not explode. It got stuck in the helicopter and did not explode. The helicopter was already on fire, but the bomb did not explode. Those two pilots knew very well what they were doing, but they were also lucky."

Earlier today, Trump said: "Iran is all talk and no action. The bully of the Middle East is dead. It took them too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, and now they will have to pay the price."

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Qalibaf responded to Trump this evening with a threat: "Despite the deaths of commanders and scientists, the progress of science and knowledge has not stopped, and the country’s defense and deterrence capabilities have not diminished. Any aggression against Iran will be met with a decisive and immediate response."