Donald Trump issues Iran with chilling ultimatum – ‘We’ll finish the job’ | World | News

Donald Trump has issued Iran with another huge ultimatum, warning if Tehran does not agree to US terms end the war or at least reopen the Strait of Hormuz, “we will finish the job”. Mr Trump was speaking to reporters on the White House lawn before departing for his trip to China.

The US President said he will have a “long talk” with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping about the Iran war, but made clear “we have Iran very much under control”. China and Iran are close allies, with Xi’s country’ being the largest buyer of Iranian oil. Speaking to reporters, Mr Trump continued to insist “Iran will not have a nuclear weapon”, before adding: “Iran will either do the right thing or we will finish the job.”

The visit to China, scheduled for May 13-15, will mark the first trip to the country by a sitting US president in almost 10 years.

It was only yesterday that Trump warned the ceasefire with Iran is “on life support” after dismissing Tehran’s response to ⁠a US peace proposal as “stupid”.

He said: “I would call it the weakest, right now, after reading that piece of garbage they sent us – I didn’t even finish reading it.

“I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support, where the doctor walks in and says: ‘Sir, your loved one has approximately a 1% chance of living.'”

The 79-year-old added he is mulling over whether to restart US navy military escorts of ships through the Strait of Hormuz in an attempt to end the Iranian blockade of the key waterway, where 20% of global oil traded passes.

Maj Gen Mohammad Ali Jafari, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said: “As long as the war on all fronts is not over, sanctions are not lifted, blocked funds are not released, war damages are not compensated and Iran’s sovereignty over the strait of Hormuz not recognised, there will be no other negotiations.”

Last week, after just two days, President Trump announced he is pausing ‘Project Freedom’ for a “short period of time to see whether or not the agreement can be finalized and signed”.

The project would have involved the US military “guiding” commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian state media ridiculed the move, calling it a “retreat” following what it described as Mr Trump’s repeated failures to deploy US naval power to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.