US President Donald Trump on Tuesday declared that ‘the Bully of the Middle East is DEAD’, unleashing a blistering attack on Iran as tensions between Washington and Tehran escalated sharply following fresh military exchanges in the Gulf region.
In a fiery social media post, Trump claimed Iran’s military had been ‘completely defeated’, saying that large parts of its naval and air capabilities ‘don’t even exist anymore’. He accused Tehran of dragging its feet on negotiations and warned that the country would now ‘have to pay the price’ for failing to strike a deal with the United States.
“Iran’s Military is a complete and total mess… They have been completely defeated. Iran is all talk and no action. The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!!” Trump wrote, in what is being seen as one of his most aggressive public statements on Iran in recent months.
The remarks came hours after Trump accused Iran of taking ‘too long’ to negotiate a deal, signalling a tougher US stance amid a rapidly deteriorating security situation in the region. “They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price,” he said.
Trump’s comments follow a major escalation between the two countries after the United States launched retaliatory strikes on Iranian military assets, while Iran responded with missile and drone attacks targeting US military facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. The confrontation marks one of the most serious flare-ups since the ceasefire reached earlier this year.
