Trump says Iran has taken too long to negotiate, will ‘have to pay the price’

DUBAI – US President Donald Trump issued a new threat to Iran on June 10 after US and Iranian forces exchanged strikes hours earlier, potentially upending an already fragile ceasefire.

“Iran is all talk and no action. They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!” Trump wrote on social media.

He said in a separate interview with Fox News that he was getting close to ordering new strikes targeting Iran’s power plants and bridges if Tehran refuses to close a deal.

“I may keep going,” Trump was quoted by Fox as saying. “They had a chance to sign a deal and survive.”

It marked a contrast with his comments to reporters on June 8 that negotiations on an enduring settlement to end the war were in their “final throes”, and could be wrapped up in “two or three days.”

Oil prices jumped following Trump’s latest posts. The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose nearly 2 per cent to about $93 a barrel, after falling earlier in the day.

The US and Iran traded strikes across the Middle East on June 10.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards carried out missile and drone attacks on American military bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for US strikes on Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz.

The clashes mark one of the biggest exchanges in hostilities since the US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire in April and came after Trump accused Iran of downing an American Apache helicopter near the strait on June 9.

“I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that’s what this one is,” Trump told ABC News.

The escalation in violence deepens doubts about the prospects for a deal to end the war that started on Feb 28 with joint US-Israeli strikes against Iran.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on June 10 that the US has damaged the ongoing international diplomatic effort to end the war “through the contradictory messages it sends, its repeated shifts in positions and demands, and, worst of all, through repeated violations of the ceasefire”.

“Any diplomatic process is damaged by the use of force and by resorting to unlawful actions on the ground,” he said.

Still, there were signs diplomatic efforts were continuing.

An official with knowledge of the matter said Qatari negotiators travelled to Tehran on June 10 after consultations with the US in an effort to finalise an agreement.

The latest US strikes targeted Iranian air defence, ground control stations and surveillance radar sites, according to the US military. These lasted around four hours before the US Central Command posted just before 9pm ET that these had ended.

A US official said almost 20 Iranian targets were struck.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Qeshm island and the port city of Sirik in the Strait of Hormuz came under attack, while explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas and later near Jask at the entrance to the strait, Iranian media reported, citing local sources and residents.

Thousands of Iranians in the southern port town of Sirik lost access to drinking water after US strikes hit two reservoirs in the area, Iranian state media said on June 10.

“Unfortunately, following this attack, 20,000 residents of the region have lost access to safe drinking water, and with temperatures ranging between 45 and 50 deg C, conditions have become extremely difficult and critical for local inhabitants,” Iran’s state television quoted local water company officials as saying.

The IRGC said it targeted four sites at the US al-Azraq base in Jordan using long-range missiles, including F-35 fighter jet hangars and a command-and-control centre.

Jordan’s military said on June 10 it intercepted and shot down five missiles launched from Iran towards Al-Azraq. Debris from the interception operation fell on Jordanian territory but caused no injuries or material damage, it added.

The Kuwaiti army said its air defence systems were engaging hostile aerial targets and urged the public to follow official safety instructions.

Bahrain’s military said it intercepted and destroyed a number of drones and missiles launched by Iran on June 10, describing them as “treacherous” attacks.

In a statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned US strikes in the country’s south, saying Tehran acted in self-defence.

It warned Gulf states that they would face consequences if their territory is used by American or Israeli forces.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said initial assessments showed nearly all missiles and drones launched by Iran were intercepted, and they were not immediately aware of any reports of harm to US personnel or damage to US locations.

Not a big deal?

On June 9, an American Apache helicopter was brought down in waters near Oman’s coast while on patrol by a one-way Iranian attack drone, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Two pilots were uninjured, Trump said.

Iran’s state media cited a military source as saying that no offensive air military operations were conducted in the Strait of Hormuz in the previous 24 hours.

A US Navy surface drone found and rescued the two crew.

The US military’s Central Command gave no reason for the crash. It said the two pilots were rescued after two hours, and that they were in stable condition, a more cautious assessment than Trump’s description.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi did not directly address the helicopter incident, but said in a post on X that foreign forces in the region risk being involved in accidents or crossfire.

“To reduce risk, (the) best solution is for them to leave,” he wrote.

Trump told The Wall Street Journal during a phone call on June 9 that the helicopter incident “wasn’t a big deal”, and stressed that “the pilot is fine”.

Fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon has continued, and Tehran has maintained its restrictions on most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Washington has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports.

Israel’s military said that it was continuing its strikes against southern Lebanon on June 10, describing the offensive as an effort to target Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants.

Hours after that statement, Israel’s military issued fresh evacuation warnings for residents in at least three towns and villages. REUTERS