Trump tells Iran to sign deal with US or ‘the whole country is going to get blown up’
Trump tells Iran to sign deal with US or ‘the whole country is going to get blown up’
John BowdenSun, April 19, 2026 at 1:46 PM UTC
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President Donald Trump has issued his latest threat to Iran and said that if officials fail to make a deal with the United States “the whole country is going to get blown up.”
The president also made threats Sunday morning to target civil infrastructure after it was reported that Iranian forces were refusing to allow ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz this weekend.
“We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!” Trump wrote.
Trump told Fox News that he was sending a team to Pakistan this week for negotiations. It wasn’t immediately clear if plans were already underway for an Iranian delegation to be present.
“If they don't sign this deal, the whole country is going to get blown up," Trump told Fox News.
The president made threats Sunday morning to target civil infrastructure after it was reported that Iranian forces were refusing to allow ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz this weekend (Getty)
Talks in Pakistan collapsed last weekend after Vice President JD Vance was dispatched to lead the Trump team’s efforts to reach a deal. Those efforts failed, and Vance emerged from a marathon session unable to pinpoint a specific matter on which the two sides had found agreement.
According to Trump and other U.S. officials, the central issue is Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Trump administration officials are pushing for the full destruction of Iran’s nuclear sites, the surrender of nuclear material, and a guarantee that Iran will not seek to enrich uranium in the future.
Vance will lead the latest round of talks, which will include special envoys Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
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The timing of Sunday’s complaints from Trump are significant. His posting on Truth Social comes just 48 hours after the U.S. president separately declared “victory” and said that the Strait of Hormuz was open once again to global shipping traffic. This weekend’s developments are a sign that despite the president’s boastings, the U.S. has not achieved its objectives and has still failed to force Iran’s government to relinquish its grip on a valuable strategic asset.
On early Friday morning Trump wrote on Truth Social that the strait was “fully open”.
Cargo ships in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz. An oil tanker was fired upon by an IRGC vessel early Sunday in the Strait of Hormuz. (Reuters)
“JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THE STRAIT OF IRAN IS FULLY OPEN AND READY FOR FULL PASSAGE”, read another all-caps Truth Social bulletin.
He’d go on to turn his criticism on Nato and European allies whose governments refused to aid the U.S. in reopening the Strait of Hormuz by force. The U.S. president previously promised to form a multinational coaltion to do so, only to come up short with no backers for his plan to individually escort tankers and other cargo ships through the strait.
And it seems to have been his decision to maintain a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports that shifted the dynamic over the weekend.
A U.K.-based maritime security agency reported early Sunday that a tanker was fired upon by a vessel or vessels manned by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“The Master of a Tanker reports being approached by 2 IRGC gun boats, no VHF challenge that then fired upon the tanker. Tanker and crew are reported safe. Authorities are investigating,” the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) reported.
In an X post from Iran’s embassy in Hyerabad, India, the IRGC stated: “As long as the traffic of vessels to and from Iran is threatened by the U.S, the status of the Strait of Hormuz will be as before, more restricted.”
“Every breach by the US will meet an appropriate response,” added the IRGC naval command in the statement posted to X.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
