On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that the United States would either reach an accord with Iran or “finish the job,” reaffirming his military action threat as Tehran exhibits defiance following the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Indirect negotiations between the US and Iran concluded last week without any discernible advancement towards a lasting settlement, despite a 60-day ceasefire intended to promote diplomatic initiatives following the US and Israeli bombings that triggered the conflict. “We’re either going to make a deal or we’re going to finish the job. OK. And it won’t be tough to finish the job. I’d rather make a deal, because I don’t want to affect 91 million people,” Trump told .
“We can knock down their bridges in one hour, we can knock out their energy supply…. They don’t have any money now. We haven’t given them any money.” Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, described Trump’s warning as “delusional.” Zolqadr remarked, “Iranians are unfamiliar with the language of threats. So speak to the Iranian people with respect, otherwise we will respond in another language.”
Trump addressed the situation following Khamenei’s weekend burial, when, instead of displaying signs of weakness due to the conflict initiated by US and Israeli strikes on February 28, the Iranian populace appeared defiant, unified, and determined in influencing future developments. The 60-day truce was instituted by Washington to revitalise diplomatic initiatives intended to prevent Iran’s advancement of a nuclear arsenal.