US President: We Gave Iranians Many Opportunities in Vain

Washington, Jan 1 (KUNA) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his country had offered the Iranian regime “many opportunities” to reach an agreement, all of which proved futile, as the U.S. military launched a new round of strikes against Iran, escalating military tensions between the two sides. In remarks to Fox News, Trump said, “I think any agreement with them (the Iranians) is not worth the paper it’s written on. We gave them many opportunities, but they are crazy and foolish,” as he described them. Regarding the new round of military strikes against Iran, Trump clarified, “They tried to rebuild their radars because they couldn’t see anything. We waited until they were about to finish building them, and then we struck them.” The U.S. president again warned Iran against the consequences of retaliating for the U.S. strikes, stating, “If they retaliate, they will face a much stronger strike. If they repeat this, they will cease to exist.” Earlier on Tuesday, Trump said that the U.S. military strikes currently being carried out against Iran are “powerful and wide-ranging,” following Iran’s attempts to target commercial shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump noted that “the United States is currently striking Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz,” emphasizing that the strikes are “fully justified” and come in response to a failed Iranian attempt to lay new naval mines in the strait, after they had been removed or completely detonated by the U.S. military. (End) A.M.M. / R.J.