US President Donald Trump told Fox News in an interview which aired on Tuesday night that the US is holding talks with Iran, and reiterated that he would strike Iran if it does not open the Strait of Hormuz.
“Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. They already can't, but it's going to be formal. The Strait's going to be open very soon, or they're going to get hit very hard, and then the Strait's going to be open," said the President.
He continued, “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?’ They didn't want [an attack]. And I said, ‘Yes, we can talk. Let's get it done. Finally, let's get it done.’"
Trump pointed out that “this should have been done by other presidents for 50 years. Other presidents or other countries should have been able to do this. And I did something that I had to do, because if they had a nuclear weapon, this whole world would be a different place."
He said that the US and Iran are “having very good discussions" and continued, “They don't like to admit that, but you know it's a little bit disconcerting. You tell people ‘we’re having wonderful discussions’ and then some guy will come out of Iran and say ‘We have not met.’ It’s a lie. They want to make a deal."
Trump was asked at what point he would say enough and there's no coming back for Iran and replied, “I have plenty of time."
The interview aired after Trump said on Monday he is prepared to authorize a large-scale military strike against Iran but stressed that he would rather avoid such an operation if Tehran agrees to a deal preventing it from obtaining nuclear weapons.
"I think we're going to maybe get something, but I want to give them every last chance before decapitation," Trump stated. "Very tough to do what we have planned, still planned. We'll see what happens, but it's a very, very tough thing to do."
The president emphasized that despite military preparations, his preference remains diplomacy.
"I think I'm very proud of the fact that I will give people a chance," Trump said. "This is a big move to do an attack that big on a country. I'd rather not do it."
Earlier in the day, Trump accused Iran's leadership of being "unbelievably duplicitous" after Tehran denied that it is holding negotiations with the United States.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that Iranian officials had sought a meeting and that discussions had already begun, with additional talks scheduled.
"Iranian leadership is unbelievably duplicitous! They ask for a meeting, some would say 'beg,' talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that they're not having any discussions, that nothing is being talked about, and they're only dealing with 'Oman,'" Trump wrote.