President Donald Trump said early Sunday that he may not extend the current ceasefire with Iran beyond Wednesday, warning that U.S. military action could resume if no deal is reached.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he had not decided whether to prolong the ceasefire once the current window expires.
“I don’t know. Maybe I won’t extend it — but the blockade is going to remain,” Trump said. He added: “Unfortunately, we’ll have to start dropping bombs again.”
Trump indicated that he wants a longer-term agreement in place by Wednesday, when the current ceasefire period is set to end. He also said the blockade would remain in effect.
The president said negotiations would continue over the weekend and said he expected them to go well. He added that many parts of a possible agreement had already been discussed.
Trump said the central U.S. objective remained preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. “The main thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “You cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon — and that supersedes everything else.”
In the same exchange, Trump also said the United States would take what he described as Iran’s “nuclear dust” after an agreement is signed, though he did not explain what he meant.
Trump said there had been some positive news from the Middle East, but he did not provide details. He also warned that if a deal is not reached, the outcome would come “in a different form — in a much more unfriendly form.”
In separate remarks during the exchange, Trump said the United States had been “pushed around by Iran for 47 years — but not anymore.”
A global media for the latest news, entertainment, music fashion, and more.
