US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that “Iran will be defeated very soon".
Speaking at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit, the President stated, “We're doing really well with Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran is not happy right now."
“Should have been done 47 years ago. Should have been done at least during the 47-year period. And it wasn't. Other presidents didn't do what was right. They should have done it a long time ago. Would have been much easier," he continued.
“They want to settle so badly. They don't like what we're doing. And they do want to settle. We'll find out whether or not we settle with them or we just finish it off," said Trump.
He also criticized former President Barack Obama, who signed the 2015 deal with Iran from which Trump withdrew in his first term in office.
“He was very bad on Iran because he basically gave them the money. He made a - what a horrible deal. He went away from Israel and he went to Iran. And that's part of the reason that we're stuck with this whole situation," Trump stated.
The President’s comments come one day after he warned that US strikes on Iran will increase and target key infrastructure unless the Iranians engage in serious negotiations for a deal.
Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Trump stated, "We're going to hit them very hard tonight, we're going to hit them very hard tomorrow night, we're going to hit them very hard the night after, and then next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants, next week comes the bridges."
“We're going to knock out all their power plants, we're going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate," he added.
Trump stressed that the strikes on Iran will “continue until I say it's enough…the word the military likes to use is degrade. They've been degraded to a very low level."
Meanwhile, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Wednesday evening that US forces have launched operations for a second wave of strikes against Iran.
The strikes are targeting Iranian military capabilities used to threaten vessels freely transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, an international waterway vital to global commerce.