US President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned of hitting Iran “even harder” even as reports suggested a likely breakthrough soon on a peace deal between Washington and Tehran.
“We may have to hit Iran even harder, but maybe not,” Trump said.
The remark comes even as a report in Al Arabiya said that efforts were ongoing to finalise the text of an agreement between US and Iran and its completion could be announced within the next few hours. Track updates on Iran-US conflict
Trump earlier said that talks with Iran were in the final stage, though he warned of more attacks if Tehran does not agree to a deal.
“We’re in the final stages of Iran. We’ll see what happens. Either have a deal or we’re going to do some things that are a little bit nasty, but hopefully that won’t happen,” Trump said.
“We’re going to give this one shot. I’m in no hurry,” Trump said. “Ideally I’d like to see few people killed, as opposed to a lot. We can do it either way.”
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According to reports, Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir may travel to Iran on Thursday to announce the final version of the agreement.
It also being reported that another round of talks is expected to take place in Pakistan capital Islamabad after the Hajj season. Pakistan hosted the first round of talks in April which ended without a conclusion as the stalemate over the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear programme lingered.
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The developments come as the Middle East war set off by US’s Operation Epic Fury nears its three-month completion. US and Israel on February 28 launched coordinated strikes on Iran, following which Iran retaliated, plunging the entire Middle East region into a war situation as Iran rained missiles on US establishments in the region and Israel.
The fighting has been paused since April 8 after a Pakistan-mediated ceasefire, although the diplomatic efforts to end the skirmishes have been moving ahead with a sluggish pace. Uncertainty looms over the fragile ceasefire even as Pakistan has positioned itself as a mediator between the two warring sides.
