Donald Trump stated today (July 15) that he does not like to give deadlines, when asked by reporters what timeline Iran has before US armed forces begin bombing bridges. “I don’t like giving deadlines, but they know very well, they know how it goes… They better behave,” the US president said.
Read also: New US strikes against Iran — “Things will go really badly for them,” Trump warned
On Monday (July 14), the US president signaled through a Fox News interview that he would order the bombing of power plants and bridges in Iran as early as next week if Tehran fails to reach a “deal.” “Things will go really badly for them,” he warned, adding that “next week, power plants will be targeted,” followed by bridges the week after, if Iranians “don’t come to the negotiating table.”
Ghalibaf: “Iran has no reason to honor a deal with the US if it doesn’t benefit from it,” says chief negotiator
Earlier, Iran’s chief negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated that if Tehran does not benefit from the “Memorandum of Understanding” with the United States, it “has no reason to adhere to such an agreement.”
Iran’s national security depends on maintaining “Iranian arrangements” in the Strait of Hormuz, Ghalibaf added, in a lengthy post on the Telegram platform.
According to the Iranian official, Iran’s approach to its conflict with the US and to negotiations aimed at ending it should be grounded in national interests, national security, and a long-term perspective. Tehran has no choice but to rely on its own capabilities, he explained.
At the same time, however, Ghalibaf did not rule out the possibility of negotiations with the United States. “Negotiating at this stage does not equate to compromise but, alongside war, is part of the strategy of resistance and the protection of national interests,” he stated, according to Reuters. “Separating the two and choosing either negotiation or war as the only solution is a strategic mistake,” he added.
