Trump issues stark warning to Iran: ‘Now pay the price for stalled peace talks’

President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Iran as the tensions between the countries continue to be heightened in the fresh wave of strikes.

On Wednesday, Tehran and Washington exchanged fire following the downing of an American helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz.

Soon after the deadly tit-for-tat strikes, President Trump warned that Iran will have to pay the price for delaying peace talks for months.

The US president wrote on his Truth Social platform, “Iran’s Military is a complete and total mess. Much of it, like their Navy and Air Force, doesn’t even exist anymore - They have been completely defeated. Iran is all talk and no action.”

“The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!! They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!”

The latest escalation follows days of escalated regional tension, which included brief military exchanges between Israel and Iran before both sides decided to follow a fragile ceasefire.

According to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), US fighter jets launched retaliatory strikes against Iranian air defense systems and radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz following the downing of a US Army Apache helicopter.

CENTCOM called these strikes “self-defence”, describing them as a “proportional response.”

In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it had launched retaliatory strikes against 21 American military assets, targeting US air and naval bases across the region.

In a recent interview with Fox News, Trump warned that he is nearing the point of ordering fresh military strikes against Iranian power plants and bridges if Iran continues to resist signing a proposed agreement.

The warning aligns with reports from a Reuters insider, who confirmed that Qatari mediators arrived in Tehran on Wednesday morning to push for a finalized deal following direct consultations with the United States.