US President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned that the United States would “bomb” Iran if a deal is not reached that “protects” American interests and those of the global community.His comments came just before a fragile two-week ceasefire is set to end on Tuesday evening (Washington time). They also came amid uncertainty over the second round of talks between the two sides in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, which hosted the first round of talks on April 11 and 12 that failed.
“The military is raring to go. If we don’t have a deal that protects our interests and the world, we are going to bomb. It’s that simple. I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with,” the Republican told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in a telephonic interview.“But we’re ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go. They are absolutely incredible,” he added.Trump also said he was not in favour of extending the ceasefire beyond the current April 22 deadline, and stated that Tehran “doesn’t have a choice”.“I don’t want to do that (extending the ceasefire). We don’t have that much time, because by the time both parties get there, as you know, they just got the okay to go forward, which I knew they were going to do anyway. I don’t think they had a choice. They have to negotiate,” the president remarked.The ceasefire, which was agreed earlier this month to give space for diplomatic talks, is still very fragile. Both Washington and Tehran have raised concerns about how it is being followed.On February 28, the US and Israel carried out joint strikes across Iran. The Islamic Republic retaliated, which led to the start of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.(With ANI inputs)
