Trump sharpened his warning to Iran on Thursday, saying Tehran must move quickly on a peace deal with Washington or face harsher consequences as the nearly four-week war grinds on.
“They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t be pretty!” Trump wrote on Truth Social early Thursday. His latest threat came as U.S. and Iranian officials continued to offer clashing accounts of whether any real talks are taking place.
Trump also described Iranian negotiators as “very different” and “strange,” and said they were “begging” for a deal, a claim Iran has publicly rejected. Tehran has acknowledged receiving a U.S. proposal through intermediaries, yet insists message exchanges do not amount to direct negotiations with Washington. Reuters reported that a senior Iranian official called the American plan “one-sided and unfair,” while leaving the door open to diplomacy if the U.S. changes course.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reportedly told state media on Wednesday that officials were reviewing the American proposal to end the war, while stressing Tehran had no intention of entering talks with the United States. In Trump’s telling, Iran’s public line does not match private outreach. “Yet they publicly state that they are only ‘looking at our proposal.’ WRONG!!!” he wrote, adding that Iran had been “militarily obliterated, with zero chance of a comeback.”
The diplomatic standoff is unfolding alongside a broader U.S. military buildup in the region. Reuters and other major outlets have reported that Washington is weighing further steps if diplomacy fails, while Trump said at a White House cabinet meeting that Iran must permanently give up its nuclear ambitions or face continued strikes. He also said he wants the Strait of Hormuz reopened.
The crisis is also straining Iran’s ties with Gulf neighbours. Gulf Arab states have warned at the United Nations that Iranian drone and missile attacks pose an “existential threat” to their security and infrastructure, while Saudi Arabia has already warned Tehran of possible retaliation after earlier strikes on its territory.
