Trump: Either we let Iran fail economically, or we hit them “very, very hard”

🔸Donald Trump, the U.S. president, in an interview published late on Monday, said the options for the United States regarding Iran are to leave Tehran to fend for itself so that it fails economically, or to hit them “very, very hard.”

🔸Mr. Trump accused Iran of being “deceptive negotiators” and described some of his current options in the war as: “Just keep going,” letting Tehran fail economically, or striking it “very, very hard.”

🔸Trump, in a phone interview with “Radio America’s Voice,” said: “In a way, I’m negotiating. They are very deceitful negotiators.”

🔸Since fighting began in late February, Trump has repeatedly oscillated between threatening to escalate the war and remarks about a peace agreement being close. On Tuesday, Pakistan said the United States and Iran had “somehow” come close to an agreement, and Qatar also announced that talks about managing the Strait of Hormuz have reached an advanced stage; this comes as reports have been published about fresh attacks on shipping in regional waters.

🔸Trump described one possible strategy this way: “Just keep doing what I’m doing now; keep going and see how bad things are for them.”

🔸He said: “Economically, they’re messed up. They can’t borrow money. We control their money—money they had, and it was a lot. We have full control of it. I’m their banker.” His remarks referred to Iran’s blocked assets.

🔸Trump said another option is to “hit them very, very hard.”

🔸The U.S. president also played down concerns about a reduction in important ammunition stockpiles and said the United States is producing them “at a very rapid pace,” blaming it on Joe Biden, the former U.S. president.

🔸Reuters had written last week that the U.S. army had used a large portion of its highly precise long-range missile stockpiles during the war, raising concerns about the country’s military readiness for future conflicts.

🔸Trump said: “We don’t have any problem with ammunition... but if stockpiles have gone down, it’s because he [Biden] gave 300 billion dollars in equipment to Ukraine. We are building them at a very fast pace, too.”