The United States and Iran exchanged fire on Wednesday, intensifying the over 100-day-long “war” between the two countries. This was soon followed by a statement from US President Donald Trump that Iran would “pay the price” as the peace deal between the two is taking much longer than expected and not leading anywhere.
Iran is taking “too long to negotiate a deal,” and that “now they will have to pay the price," Trump made the comment on his Truth Social platform.
It wasn't clear what exactly that would mean for Tehran.
Trump wrote: “They've taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!”
Trump's warning came hours after Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan — all of which host US troops — came under Iranian fire. It was the second time this week that back-and-forth strikes have tested a two-month ceasefire. On Monday, Iran and Israel targeted each other.
“We're going to hit them again hard today,” Trump told the media at the White House.
“We were really close to a deal, but they keep tapping us along,” Trump said.
Iran, meanwhile, has proved resilient despite having faced weeks of heavy bombing. It is betting that its ability to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial passageway for the world's oil and natural gas — gives it a strong bargaining chip. Still, both countries seem to be looking for a way to end the conflict — if they can manage to sell it as a win-win.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent on pursuing much more difficult goals: the collapse of Iran's theocratic government, the elimination of its nuclear program, and the destruction of the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. That will make compromise much harder.
Since the US and Israel started the war with attacks on Iran on Feb 28, the conflict has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices around the world, and made food and other basics more expensive.
The international benchmark for crude oil traded above USD 92 a barrel on Wednesday, up more than 25 per cent since the start of the war.
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