President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is not interested in negotiating with Iran at this time, arguing that an agreement had already been within reach before the latest escalation in hostilities.
Trump made the remarks during an interview with Fox News Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst as the United States carried out another round of strikes against Iran. The military action comes after U.S. officials accused the Iranian government of violating a memorandum of understanding between the two countries that had been intended to pause fighting while both sides worked through additional details.
According to U.S. officials, Iran violated the agreement by firing on and striking tankers traveling through the Strait of Hormuz using Oman’s territorial waters. Iranian officials have rejected that interpretation, maintaining that Article 5 of the memorandum requires vessels to arrange safe passage through Iran and its waters.
In response to Iran’s renewed restrictions affecting travel through the strategically important strait, the United States has resumed its blockade of Iranian ships operating in the Gulf of Oman.
During his interview with Yingst, Trump was questioned about Iran’s current leadership and whether he still viewed it as fundamentally different from previous governments.
Yingst asked the president whether he continued to believe Iran’s leadership represented a changed regime.
Trump responded by reflecting on multiple groups that have held power, saying he had known members of the earlier leadership and described them as “evil.” He added that those individuals were no longer in power before making similar comments about a second group. Turning to the current leadership, Trump said there were still “some bad ones” and “some very bad ones,” adding that he believed they were preventing an agreement from being reached.
Yingst then asked whether the United States might be negotiating with the wrong people.
Trump replied that he was no longer interested in negotiations at this stage.
“Well, now, I don’t want to negotiate now,” Trump said. “I said, ‘Let’s not negotiate.’ Three days ago, we had a deal.”
The exchange underscored the administration’s position that diplomatic efforts have stalled following the latest developments between the two countries.
Later in the interview, Trump delivered another warning to Iran, saying the country should agree to a deal or risk devastating consequences.
“You’re not gonna have anybody left,” the president said.
The latest comments came as the conflict continues following the military campaign Trump launched in February alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the article, Netanyahu reportedly persuaded Trump that military action against Iran could quickly bring down the regime and that Iranian leaders would not respond by closing the Strait of Hormuz.
With U.S. strikes continuing and tensions remaining high, Trump indicated he sees little value in returning to negotiations for now, arguing that an agreement had already existed just days earlier before the current round of fighting intensified.
