President Donald Trump stated on Friday that the United States would “completely decimate” Iran if it attempted or succeeded in assassinating the sitting president.
“1000 missiles are locked and loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
“Orders have already been given, and the U.S. military is ready, willing, and able, for a one-year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran,” he said.
Iran emphasized on Saturday it had “kept its word” on a ceasefire with the United States, after Trump insisted the truce was over but that he had agreed to further negotiations with the Islamic Republic.
The comments mark a new low in relations between the foes, after an exchange of fire this week rocked a shaky agreement aimed at turning the months-long ceasefire into a durable peace and threatened a return to full-scale regional war.
Trump ramped up the rhetoric between the warring sides on Saturday, threatening in a Truth Social post to “completely decimate” Iran if it attempted or succeeded in assassinating him.
Although there haven’t been direct talks between Iran and the United States since last month, Iranian media reported that a delegation from mediator Qatar was in Tehran after the two sides exchanged strikes.
It happened a day after the president agreed to continue talks with Iran, even as he reiterated his claim that the ceasefire was over, just weeks after Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding pushing for peace.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks.’ We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Ceasefire is OVER!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
Trump also pronounced the truce to be ended earlier this week at a NATO conference, stating of Tehran that “it’s just a waste of time dealing with them.”
In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on Saturday that Tehran “has so far kept its word, unlike the so-called US Treasury Secretary who is violating Para 9 of the MoU.”
A portion of the memorandum of understanding states that, pending a final agreement, Iran will “maintain the current status quo of its nuclear program,” and the United States “will not impose any new sanctions and will not deploy additional forces in the region.”
“That infraction comes after earlier transgressions and errors committed by the US. Reality check: Only mutual compliance is possible,” Araghchi continued.
The hostile remarks came as Axios and Politico reported that Washington has given Tehran until Saturday to stop firing on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and acknowledge that the waterway is open.
The Strait is a crucial shipping route for the world’s oil and is a major source of contention between the United States and Iran.
Tehran effectively closed the strategic waterway in response to the war sparked by US-Israeli strikes on the city in late February.
Since the signing of their memorandum of understanding, US and Iranian delegations have held one round of direct talks in Switzerland and Qatar.
The Islamic Republic has stated that it wants to impose tolls on ships passing through Hormuz, which is made up of Omani and Iranian territorial seas.
It had no such authority prior to the conflict, and although Omani and Iranian territorial waters make up the strait, both countries are typically prohibited by international law from obstructing travel or imposing tolls.
Following attacks on ships in the strait, the US conducted massive strikes on Iran this week, which set off a chain reaction of retaliation against US locations in the Gulf.
Additionally, a license granted in June that permitted Tehran to manufacture, market, and transport crude oil and associated goods through August 21 was withdrawn by the US Treasury Department, which also rescinded a temporary sanctions reprieve for Iranian oil.
According to the official IRNA news agency, Araghchi will visit Oman on Saturday to discuss the strait.
Doha supported the ongoing diplomacy; on Friday, Iran’s Tasnim agency reported that a delegation from Qatar was in Tehran to “try to reinforce Qatar’s role as a mediator following events on Tuesday,” when Doha denounced the Islamic Republic’s “unacceptable assault” on one of its LNG ships.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has also been mediating the conflict, held a call with Qatar’s emir on Friday to discuss the recent escalation, Sharif’s office said in a statement.
Sharif also spoke with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, urging him to safeguard the “hard-earned peace,” the premier said on X.
However, Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with Washington, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, struck a defiant tone.
“Ending the war is a priority for the countries of the world, but everyone must know that this confrontation will never end with Iran’s surrender,” the ISNA news agency reported him saying.
Iranians, he noted, were “fully prepared to defend ourselves.”
