Donald Trump has sent 9,000 US troops to the Middle East after warning that new strikes against Iran could be on the horizon.
The US president has refused to dispel reports that further bombing could take place before the US midterms in November.
He also said early indications suggest that Iran was most likely linked to the Israeli plane hijacking attempt on Wednesday.
President Trump warned that the US would retaliate if the link is established to Iran, telling reporters: “Oh they’ll be hit, very hard, don’t worry.”
On Thursday, he declared that Iran must sign a peace deal or it “won’t exist any longer” after Tehran announced it had received a US response to its proposal to end the war.
The president had publicly rejected Iran’s peace offer just days earlier. On Wednesday, however, Iranian officials suggested the two sides largely differed over the timeline for its implementation.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi presented the US response to president Masoud Pezeshkian at a cabinet meeting, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told the state news agency IRNA.
Trump admits Iran war could cost Republicans the midterms
Donald Trump has admitted that the Iran war could cost Republicans the midterms, echoing similar statements from his daughter-in-law and political figure Lara Trump.
Asked if the seven month old war could impact his party at the November elections, the US president told reporters: “Well, it’s possible.”
He added: “It should help because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.
“So when you say, ‘Is it OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon?’ I would say 100 per cent of the people say no, including worldwide.”
Earlier this week, Lara Trump told The Sun’s Harry Cole: “Well, it could cost him the midterms. I think Donald Trump’s legacy is yet to be written.”
Another poll conducted for CNN by SSRS found that Republican approval of the war fell from 73 per cent in March to 60 per cent in the latest survey.
Israel warned UK over ‘Iranian attack’ ahead of RAF Fairford incident, Netanyahu claims
Trump claims Iran most likely behind Israeli plane hijacking attempt
Donald Trump has said Iran is most likely responsible for the Israeli plane hijacking attempt and vowed to “hit them very hard” if they were.
He told reporters: “We're working on it right now, they're [UAE] being very open with us, I would say the answer based on what I'm hearing is yes, but we're working on it right now.”
Asked what would happen if Iran was found responsible, he said: “They'll be hit very hard, don't worry.”
Benjamin Netanyahu previously told CNN that it was too early to tell whether Iran was involved, but later said the alleged attacker “underwent Islamist radical indoctrination.”
US 'needs to get idea of bringing us to our knees out of its head', says Iran
President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Iran will continue to defend itself but remains open to discussions with America.
According to state media, he said that the US needed to “get the idea of bringing us to our knees with terror and martyrdom out of its head.”
Pezeshkian added: “We defend the rights of our society with dignity and pride, and we have never run away from dialogue and will not do so, although the United States has targeted our country three times despite having signed the agreement.
“The enemies thought that with the martyrdom of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the people, commanders, and scientists - the country - would collapse, but our national and internal unity and cohesion increased.”
Trump sends 9,000 troops to Middle East after threatening to it Iran 'very hard'
Around 9,000 US troops are being deployed to the Middle East aboard a group of ship after Donald Trump warned that new strikes against Iran could be on the horizon.
The group of ships now en route to the Middle East together carry over 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines.
It includes the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, which recently deployed with the cruiser USS Chosin, and the USS Makin Island amphibious readiness group, which includes the USS John P. Murtha and USS Anchorage amphibious landing ships.
It could mean that three carriers are in the region as early as the end of October, according to a US official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
President Trump also said early indications suggest that Iran is linked to the co-pilot who stabbed his captain and tried to crash an Israel-bound flight on Wednesday.
He warned that if the link is established to Iran, the US would retaliate.
“Oh they’ll be hit, very hard, don’t worry," he said. “You just ask them. They know what happened. They’ll be hit very hard.”
Trump claims to have eradicated Iran nuclear threat in one night
Donald Trump has claimed he eradicated Iran’s nuclear threat in one night.
The US president wrote on Truth Social: “I stated, numerous times, that it would take 4-6 weeks to get rid of THE IRAN NUCLEAR THREAT, and I did it in one night!
“The rest of the time is just to make sure it stays that way.”
Israel warned UK over ‘Iranian attack’ ahead of RAF Fairford incident, Netanyahu claims
Iran must 'sign a fair deal or no longer exist' - Trump
Iran must “sign a very fair deal” if it wants to continue to exist, Donald Trump has said in his latest threat to the country.
Speaking to reporters as he boarded the Marine One for a trip to Texas and Oklahoma, he said: “Now I have to make a decision. They'll either sign a very fair deal, or they won't exist any longer.”
It follows earlier comment from the US president today when he declared that he would decide very soon whether to “blow up” Iran or make a deal.
“We have to make that decision: we blow them up or make a deal,” he told reporters. “But the time is coming. It's going to end very soon, one way or another.”
UK in emergency talks with EU over diesel supplies after Trump threat
Britain and its European allies are discussing tapping into emergency stockpiles of diesel after Donald Trump threatened a ban on US exports.
Officials from the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Ireland held crunch talks on Thursday morning to discuss the possible need to release their emergency stocks.
President Trump had reportedly told Germany and France to draw down emergency diesel inventories to help to ease global fuel prices, as he threatened to cut off American supply.
The US president is said to be frustrated with the two countries for not fully following through on earlier commitments to release emergency oil and petroleum stocks.
His ongoing war with Iran, along with the Russian-Ukraine conflict, continues to choke off global oil supplies.
US imposes fresh sanctions on Iran
Donald Trump has imposed a series of fresh sanctions on Iran, targeting its rail and automotive sectors as it looks to “drain the regime’s revenue”.
“Iran’s automotive and rail industries have been coopted by the regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), whose corruption and self‑serving interests have pushed Iran’s economy to the brink,” the US Treasury said.
Major automotive companies Iran Khodro Company and SAIPA IranianAutomobile Manufacturing Company have come under the sanctions due to their “close ties” to the IRGC.
Key Iranian rail companies like the state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Railway Company (RAI), which provides passenger and freight services, and the Raja Passenger Trains Company, serves as a primary passenger rail company, have also been sanctioned.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said: “Today’s action directly targets Iran’s enablers and lays the groundwork for the United States and our partners to drain the regime’s revenue once and for all.”