US President Donald Trump was asked by a reporter on Monday about his previous comments warning that the current negotiations with Iran represented its final chance before "decapitation," and was pressed on what comes next.
“You’ll find out," Trump replied. Asked whether a massive escalation remains on the table, Trump added, “Well, we certainly have that ability if we want to do that. You’ll find out."
The President also reiterated his opposition to Iran’s demands for reparations - a topic he had addressed earlier in a post on Truth Social - stating, “They ask for reparations, you might say, or they ask for money for the damage that we've done. And I said, that's a good idea. Well, we're going to ask for money for the damage they've done over a 50-year period, whether you go USS Cole or whether you go [to] all of the people that were so badly hurt, so badly wounded or killed - many thousands of people. And maybe damages for the 52,000 protesters over the last four months that were killed in Iran. It was at least 52,000 a month and a half ago. So now what is it? If there are damages to be paid, I think Iran should pay those damages."
Asked when the Strait of Hormuz would be opened, Trump replied, “It’s open now. The only one that has control of the Strait of Hormuz right now is the United States Navy. We have a blockade that's been infallible. It's a steel wall. And we let people in that we want to let in, and those people come in, and they've been coming in and going out. So it's actually open now. We do not let them go into Iran. They're not admitted into the Strait to go to Iran."
He continued, “[Iran] can make trouble, but they are broke. They have no money. Iran is totally broke. They are not paying their soldiers. Their inflation is 309%. So we’ll see what happens."
“For 50 years, they’ve been the bully of the Middle East. They’ve killed hundreds of thousands of people. Now they are paying a price," Trump concluded.