‘The strikes will continue until I say it’s enough’: Trump warns Iran

US President Donald Trump has vowed to continue military strikes on Iran until he personally decides to halt them, while escalating pressure on Tehran by warning it would “not have anybody left” if it refuses to reach a deal with Washington.

Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday (July 14), Trump said the US military campaign against Iran would continue despite Tehran still having “some fight left”, adding that it was “not much”. According to Fox News, the president also indicated that Iranian energy infrastructure would be targeted later in the campaign.

“The strikes will continue until I say it’s enough,” Trump said, signalling that Washington has no immediate plans to ease its military operations. Trump also intensified his rhetoric by urging Iran to return to negotiations, saying the country faced devastating consequences if it failed to do so.

“You better make a deal,” Trump told Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst. “You’re not going to have anybody left.” He insisted the US was “being very careful with the civilian population” before repeating his warning. “But I said, you better make a deal. You’re not going to have anything left,” he said.

Trump revealed that US representatives had communicated the same message to Iranian officials during their latest contact with Tehran, which he said took place “about an hour ago”. Asked whether he believed Iran would ultimately agree to a deal, Trump replied: “They should. I don’t know if they will or not.”

The president also threatened to dramatically expand the scope of US strikes if Iran refused to negotiate, warning that bridges and power plants could become targets as early as next week. “We’re going to hit them very hard tomorrow night. We’re going to hit them very hard the night after, and then next week it gets really bad for them, because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges. We’re going to knock out all their power plants. We’re going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate,” Trump said.

The comments come as US strikes on Iran entered a fourth consecutive day following the collapse of a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran. The Trump administration has maintained that negotiations cannot meaningfully progress while Iran continues to restrict maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump acknowledged that a ground campaign remained an option, although he suggested he was reluctant to deploy American troops. “I don’t want to do that,” he said. “Sometimes you need a ground campaign, but we have other people who will do the ground campaign for us.”