United States President, Donald Trump, has said that Iran would now pay for taking too long to negotiate a peace deal.
Trump made this statement in a post on his Truth Social on Wednesday, a day after suggesting an agreement was in the offing.
His remark came after Iran and the US once again traded fire following the downing of an American helicopter, further straining a ceasefire that took effect in April but has been marked by sporadic flare-ups of violence.
The exchange drew international calls for restraint on the eve of the World Cup, which the US is co-hosting and Iran is participating in.
Trump said that Iran had been completely defeated, just a day after saying talks to bring about a definitive end to the Middle East war were in the final throes.
“Iran is all talk and no action. They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price,” he wrote.
The war, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, threw the region into chaos and rattled global markets before the shaky truce began.
