Trump: Iran will ‘pay the price,’ expresses frustration with talks

By Sarah Roderick-Fitch
The Center Square

More than two months after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, President Donald Trump is signaling he may give the green light to restart military action against the Islamic Republic.

The president posted to social media Wednesday morning, appearing fed up with Iranians dragging out talks and may continue strikes, following overnight retaliatory strikes against the Islamic Republic.

“Iran’s military is a complete and total mess. Much of it, like their Navy and Air Force, doesn’t even exist anymore – they have been completely defeated. Iran is all talk and no action. The bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!! 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 Truth Social.

The president’s post comes on the heels of the U.S. military carrying out about 20 strikes on the Islamic Republic, including radar and air defense systems at Iranian sites along the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran responded by targeting U.S. military bases by launching missiles towards Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, home of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

The retaliatory strikes come less than a day after an Iranian drone struck a U.S. Army Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz. Neither of the soldiers was injured and was rescued.

Before the ceasefire, which took effect April 8, the president warned Iran that the U.S. could strike infrastructure and power plants inside Iran if they didn’t come to the table.

For more than two months talks have been ongoing, with Trump appearing optimistic a deal was close to being struck, most recently Monday evening.

Things between the U.S. and Iran began to reheat in the past few weeks, with the U.S. and the Islamic Republic exchanging fire, with U.S. Central Command describing the strikes as “self-defensive” in nature. Trump underscored that the ceasefire remained intact and talks were ongoing.