US President Donald Trump on Monday delivered a new warning to Iran during the ongoing funeral ceremonies for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying the United States would either reach an agreement with Tehran or “finish the job", while maintaining that diplomacy remained his preferred course over military action.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said Washington possessed the military capability to devastate Iran’s infrastructure within hours but emphasised that he would rather achieve a negotiated settlement than inflict suffering on the Iranian people.
His comments came against the backdrop of continued tensions despite ongoing US-Iran talks and fresh exchanges between Washington and Tehran following the funeral of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Warning Tehran against rejecting a deal, Trump asserted that the United States held overwhelming military superiority. “We’re going to win one way or the other. We’re going to either make a deal or we’re going to finish the job—and it won’t be tough to finish the job," he said.
He reiterated that a diplomatic resolution remained his preference. “I’d rather make a deal because I don’t want to affect 91 million people. We can knock down their bridges in one hour," Trump said.
The US President further claimed that Iran’s critical infrastructure could be wiped out rapidly. “In a small part of an afternoon, every plant will be gone. And they know that," Trump said.
“And it won’t be difficult to finish the job." He further said, “We can knock down their bridges in one hour. We can knock out their energy supply… their plants… they don’t have any money now."
Trump’s remarks came as mourners attending Khamenei’s funeral raised chants of “Death to America" and “Death to Trump".
Turning to negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, Trump said the United States would ensure that Tehran did not obtain nuclear weapons. He also claimed that Washington would take possession of Iran’s enriched nuclear material under any future agreement.
“Oil is now at a level that, I think it’s even lower, on a barrel basis, than it was before we started. We’ve gotten concessions, and they have to hold those concessions, but there’ll be no nuclear weapon. We’re going to be getting the, as I call it, dust; the enriched material—nuclear dust," Trump said.
Despite his forceful rhetoric, Trump said he was not pursuing regime change in Iran.
According to Reuters, Trump said he was not looking for regime change in Iran.
In an earlier interview with Axios, Trump said Iran’s current leadership remained necessary for negotiations. “They are all there. One shot [and we can take them all out], but we are not going to do that because then we would have nobody to negotiate with," Trump told the US media outlet.
He also expressed surprise at the scale of public mourning for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Maybe it’s fake tears," Axios quoted Trump as saying, adding that he believed many Iranians were opposed to the late leader.
Iran responded sharply to Trump’s comments. In a post on X, the Iranian Embassy in Armenia said the United States would never comprehend the public grief surrounding Khamenei because it “neither has civilisation, history, nor honour". The statement was issued shortly after the US marked the 250th anniversary of its independence on July 4.
Referring to the crowds gathered for Khamenei’s funeral, the embassy said, “People can be killed, but ideals cannot. You killed Ayatollah Khamenei, but in reality, you broke a perfume bottle whose scent spread everyplace. You don’t understand these things because you have neither civilisation, nor history, nor honor."
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