US President Donald Trump on Sunday expressed hope for a peace deal with Iran, barely hours after posting an expletive-filled outburst online warning Tehran of his deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“I think there is a good chance tomorrow, they are negotiating now,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News, referring to what he claimed were ongoing backdoor negotiations for a ceasefire in the war, which has crossed one month.
At the same time, he warned of severe consequences if the two sides failed to agree on a ceasefire deal and reopening the strait.
“If they don’t make a deal and fast, I’m considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil,” he said in the interview.
However, just hours before Fox News released the interview, Trump wrote an expletive-filled post on Truth Social putting forth the exact same warning, but amplified with anger.
"Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah," he wrote in the post, sparking a great deal of shock online.
He also refers to Tuesday (April 7)—the deadline of his 10-day ultimatum for Iran to agree on a ceasefire deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz—as "Power Plant Day" and "Bridge Day" in the post, indicating that Tehran's critical infrastructure would be blown to bits if the terms of the ultimatum were not met.
This comes as a clear gap continues to emerge between Trump's war rhetoric and the ground reality of the war. Yet, the possibility of destruction beyond the daily US-Israel strikes on Iranian facilities cannot be ruled out.
Iran continues to maintain pressure on US-Israel forces with regular missile and drone attacks on Israel, as well as critical infrastructure in Arab countries around it.
(More details are awaited.)
