President Donald Trump said U.S. attacks on Iran will likely resume should the ceasefire expire on Wednesday, as tensions over the critical Strait of Hormuz waterway threaten to again undermine peace efforts.
“Well, I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with,” Trump said in an interview on CNBC on Tuesday morning. “But we’re ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go. They are absolutely incredible.”
White House negotiators led by Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, are traveling to Pakistan on Tuesday for further negotiations to end the war, which kicked off with U.S. and Israeli strikes in February.
The status of the Strait of Hormuz is a major point of tension between the U.S. and Iran. Roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil transits through the waterway, and Iran effectively shuttered it after the first American attacks, sending gas prices skyrocketing.
Trump and Iranian officials announced on Friday that the strait would be reopened, in what seemed like a critical breakthrough in talks. But the situation quickly reverted after Trump insisted that a U.S. blockade on Iranian shipping would remain in effect, with Tehran responding by redoubling its own efforts to clamp down on the strait.
The president’s latest broadside comes just days after he accused Iran of striking multiple European ships in the Strait, and after the U.S. seized the Touska, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship attempting to evade the American blockade.
Trump again threatened to bomb civilian infrastructure in the country if Tehran didn’t take a “very fair and reasonable DEAL” in a Truth Social post over the weekend. In several Truth Social posts Tuesday morning, Trump also urged Iranian leaders to release a group of women who may soon be hanged, and defended his operations in Iran from critical media coverage and condemnation from Democrats.
Trump told CNBC he is unlikely to prolong the ceasefire, even if progress is made on a peace deal.
“They have to negotiate,” he said. “And you know, the one thing I’ll say is this. Iran can get themselves in a very good footing if they make a deal. They can make themselves into a strong nation again, a wonderful nation again.”
In the meantime, bombing civilian infrastructure remains on the table, Trump said.
“It’s not my choice, but it will also hurt them,” he said. “It’ll hurt them militarily. They use the bridges for their weapons, for their missile movements. You know, they’re trying to move the missiles because we’ve obliterated most of their missiles and they’re trying to move their missiles around even during the ceasefire.”