President Donald Trump touted on Monday successes in the war against Iran, saying that the United States was having “good talks” with the country but warned strikes could easily resume.
Monday marked the third straight day of a pause in U.S. attacks against the Iranian regime, following a 13-day bombing campaign on its key sites and infrastructure, with Trump saying there was a good chance to reach a deal.
“Iran took a beating over the last 14 days,” the U.S. president said. “They asked us very nicely, ‘Please stop, let’s meet.’”
“We’re having good talks. … I think there’s a good chance that something could happen, and if it does, good,” he said.
Trump warned if negotiations fail, then “we go back to doing what we were doing.”
Despite the president’s comments about the possibility of a deal forming, Iran tested the U.S. military pause by launching drone attacks against Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq, the countries reported Monday.
Saudi Arabia said it destroyed drones launched by Iran-backed armed groups in Iran that were aimed at petroleum targets.
Iran’s Houthi allies in Yemen also claimed it targeted the East-West Pipeline, which transports oil to a main Saudi Arabian port in the Red Sea, in retaliation for a Saudi-led coalition launching drone attacks against them.
Crude shipping in the Red Sea slowed Monday in response to the increased tensions.
Later Monday, at a rally in Milford, Michigan, Trump referred to Iran, saying, “You can’t bribe them. You’ve got to beat them, and we’ll beat the hell out of them. But we’ll see how it turns out. Right now, there are very friendly negotiations going on.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei also said Monday that messages between Iran and the United States were still being passed through mediators.
Iran had not given up on pursuing a deal, Baghaei said, but any ideas that the country asked for negotiations were fabricated.
“This is not in our DNA,” Baghaei said.
Another senior Iranian official said on Sunday the regime would pause its attacks as long as Trump’s pause in strikes continues.
Meanwhile, a U.S. official told The Epoch Times on Monday: “Iran begged the United States to halt the devastating strikes, and they are desperate for a deal.”
Trump previously stressed that the United States was “locked and loaded” for more massive strikes against Iran.
The pause in U.S. strikes against Iran, which caused oil prices to fall, comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House on July 28.
It will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since the start of the war against Iran nearly five months ago, which both countries coordinated for in a joint strike on Feb. 28 that killed dozens of the Iranian regime’s top leaders, including its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Netanyahu said Monday that Iran will be at the forefront of discussions, while a White House official told The Epoch Times that Trump plans to “discuss the conflict in Iran, progress with the Trilateral Framework in Lebanon, and expanding the Abraham Accords.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
