President Donald Trump on Tuesday entreated Iranians to “rise up and fight” while also dismissing the possibility that U.S. strikes on Iran are intended to bring Tehran to the negotiating table.
The president’s comments come as U.S. Central Command announced it wrapped up another round of strikes on Iran in retaliation for Tehran targeting U.S. forces in Jordan and commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
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“I’m not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table, as ABC Fake News reported. I couldn’t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, although it was not clear which report from ABC News he was referring to.
“I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing. They are just playing out the inevitable,” he continued. “When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”
Trump did not specify what he meant by “the inevitable” but warned earlier on Tuesday that Iranian retaliation to U.S. strikes would be met with intense military action, saying the country would “be no longer.”
The president had previously touted that Iranian officials were “begging” for a deal to put an end to the over six-month war, but has recently upped the ante on threatening devastating strikes over peace talks.
Trump’s remarks come shortly after Iranian state media reported a U.S. airstrike had struck a wedding in Kuhestak, a coastal city near the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials said at least five people, including a child, were killed and at least 68 others were wounded.
US CARRIES OUT NEW STRIKES AGAINST IRAN FOLLOWING ATTACKS ON US SERVICE MEMBERS
CENTCOM spokesman Tim Hawkins told the Washington Examiner in a statement that the command is aware of the reports from Iranian state media and emphasized that the U.S. military does not target civilians.
U.S. forces’ strikes on Tuesday mark the second barrage since Sunday night, which was the first campaign after a monthlong hiatus in airstrikes between the two countries at war.
