Trump warns Iran of military strike if nuclear deal talks collapse

President Donald Trump renewed his warning to Iran on Tuesday, saying the U.S. could strike the country “really hard” if negotiations between Washington and Tehran collapse again.

“If they back out again, they’re going to get hit really hard,” Trump told Fox News’ Trace Gallagher. “They know that. They understand that. I have no choice. They can’t have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple.”

Trump said military action remained an option if diplomacy fails.

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“The hard hit is yet to come, and hopefully we won’t have to use it,” he said during the interview.

Trump’s comments came days after he held off on a planned military strike on Iran that he said would have been the largest since World War II after Tehran and several Middle Eastern countries requested more time to negotiate over reopening the Strait of Hormuz and addressing Iran’s nuclear program.

“We were going to a tremendous attack, the biggest since World War II, and they called me and said very politely, ‘Please, can we talk? Can we talk?’ And I said, ‘Yes, we can talk. Let’s get it done,'” Trump said.

Earlier this week, Trump said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and curb Iran’s nuclear program was “imminent.”

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Iranian officials have denied holding direct talks with the United States, saying negotiations are taking place through mediators in Oman. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Iranian and Omani officials had made significant progress toward a potential agreement to reopen the strait, though negotiations remained ongoing.

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Trump described Tuesday’s negotiations as “very good,” despite Iran’s repeated public denials that direct talks were underway.

“They don’t like to admit that, but, well, you know, it’s a little bit disconcerting,” he said.

“It’s just such a lie,” Trump added.

“But it doesn’t matter. That’s talk. The only thing that matters is action. And they want to make a deal. We’ll see what happens. If they don’t make a deal, it’s going to be too bad.”

When asked at what point the U.S. might abandon talks with Iran after negotiations repeatedly collapsed, Trump said he was not in a rush to walk away from diplomacy.

“I have plenty of time,” he said.

Trump argued that previous administrations failed to resolve the issue and again criticized the nuclear agreement negotiated under former President Barack Obama.

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“It should have been done by many presidents over many years, and it wasn’t, and I’m doing it,” Trump said. “Obama was taken to the cleaners.”

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Trump has previously called the latest round of negotiations Iran’s “last chance” to avoid an escalation of US military action. He has said negotiators will initially focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz before addressing Tehran’s nuclear program.

Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.