Trump: "Engaged in Serious Talks with Iran... Ready for Immediate Military Action"

"A smarter strategy would be reaching an agreement,
but the military option remains on the table"

"Iran appears more serious than ever...
but does not seem ready for a deal yet"

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he is engaged in serious discussions with Iran, but also warned that if an agreement is not reached, he would immediately resort to military action.

U.S. President Donald Trump. Photo by EPA Yonhap News

On the 24th (local time), President Trump responded to reporters at the White House who asked about an exit strategy from a war with Iran by saying there are two possible paths: "a military exit strategy" and "a smarter strategy of reaching an agreement."

President Trump said, "One option is to continue what we are doing now (airstrikes), and if we want, we can escalate it to a much higher level," emphasizing, "We are prepared to launch and ready to act immediately."

The previous day, in an interview with the online media outlet Axios, President Trump stated that he was "considering a massive attack against Iran" and said, "I am on the verge of making a decision (on the attack)." The New York Times (NYT) reported that President Trump held a meeting with his key aides to discuss whether to intensify attacks against Iran.

However, President Trump also said, "Even at this very moment, we are talking with them," adding, "I always prefer that alternative." He further stated, "While the talks are ongoing, I will see what kind of results come out," and added, "Right now, Iran appears to be more serious than we've ever seen before." Nevertheless, he added, "I don't think they are ready yet."

President Trump also mentioned in a post on his social networking service (SNS), Truth Social, that China and Russia have stated they will not sell weapons to Iran, adding that he believes China and Russia are not involved in the Iran conflict. Regarding this, he explained, "I don't think they (Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin) want to disappoint me," and said, "The two major countries (China and Russia), which are often mentioned in discussions about Iran, in my opinion, are not involved in this affair."

Regarding President Trump's SNS post, AFP interpreted it as a warning to China and Russia concerning arms sales to Iran.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.