‘You can’t bribe them. You’ve got to beat them’: Trump on Iran talks
US President Donald Trump said on Monday the United States was having “good talks” with Iran and there was a chance of a deal over their conflict, but he warned that US strikes would resume if the negotiations failed to deliver, Reuters writes.
At a campaign rally in Michigan later on Monday, Trump said of Iran: “You can’t bribe them. You’ve got to beat them, and we’ll beat the hell out of them. But we’ll see how it turns out. Right now, there are very friendly negotiations going on.”
Iran’s central military command later on Monday accused the US of threatening vessels and oil tankers in its territorial waters and of “attempting to implement an illegal maritime blockade”, which it said “constitutes an escalation of the conflict in the region.”
Saudi Arabia said it shot down drones aimed at petroleum targets, including in Riyadh. It said they had been launched from Iraq by Iran-backed armed groups, and it reserved the right to respond.
Separately, the Houthis said they had targeted the East-West Pipeline carrying oil to Saudi Arabia’s main Red Sea port of Yanbu in retaliation for Saudi drone incursions.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted over the weekend showed Trump’s approval rating ticking higher to 37%, up three points from last month when it tied the lowest of his presidency.
However, just one in three Americans support the war against Iran, the lowest Reuters/Ipsos reading since the conflict’s early days, with most saying Trump has failed to explain his goals.
