Washington DC [US], April 7 : With the clock ticking for Iran as Trump's final deal looms, Axios reported on Monday (local time), citing a senior administration official, that the US President might hold off on Iran if he sees a deal coming through.
"If the president sees a deal is coming together, he'll probably hold off. But only he and he alone makes that decision," a senior administration official told Axios. It further reported that a defence official said they were "sceptical" there would be any extension this time around.
The report comes shortly after US President Donald Trump gave an ultimatum to Iran to make a deal before Tuesday, 8:00 P.M ET, warning that there'll be "no bridges, no power plants" after that.
Addressing reporters at the White House, Trump said that this is a "critical period" and Washington has given Tehran the necessary time to make a deal to put this war to an end.
"This is a critical period... They asked for an extension of seven days; I gave them 10 days... They have till tomorrow. Now we will see what happens... A lot of people are affected by this. We are giving them until tomorrow, 8 o'clock, Eastern Time. After that, they are going to have no bridges. They are going to have no power plants. Stone ages," Trump said.
Trump admitted that he was dealing with a "much more powerful Iran" when the conflict started on February 28, adding that the US has "decapitated" it, adding that these steps should have been taken 47 years ago.
"I think it is going fine, but we will have to see. You have to understand; we have been dealing with these people for 47 years. I'm standing here with a much more powerful Iran than a month ago, not anymore. Right now, they are decapitated," he said.
"This should've been handled by the seven presidents, and they are saying now that we should've done this a long time ago. It's not something I like doing," he added.
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