Trump: 'I Am Very Close to Ordering New Strikes on Iran'
Trump warns he is "very close" to ordering new strikes on Iran, calls the U.S. naval blockade the most successful in history and says Iran is rapidly becoming a failed state.
President Trump warned Wednesday that he is on the verge of resuming military strikes against Iran, escalating his rhetoric sharply in remarks to Fox News and on social media.
"I am very close to ordering additional strikes on Iran," Trump said in the Fox News interview, signaling that his patience with the nuclear negotiations has run out after months of what he has described as Iranian stalling.
Trump also posted a new statement on social media, lashing out at media coverage of the U.S. naval blockade. "The fake news media refuses to report how effective the U.S. Navy's naval blockade is - the most successful blockade in the history of naval warfare," he wrote. "Nothing gets through unless we want it to. It is a wall of steel."
He added: "Iran is not doing any business, not paying its military or any bills, and is quickly becoming a failed state! A lot of oil is going out. Praise be to Allah!"
Trump had earlier posted what was described as an unusually combative message against Tehran, warning that the Iranian regime had played for too much time and would now have to pay the price for failing to reach a deal.
