‘They took too long to negotiate’: Trump says Iran will now ‘pay the price’ as West Asia tensions escalate
"They’ve taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!" said Trump.
With overnight US strikes triggering fears of fresh escalation in West Asia, Iran on Wednesday said that it will reassess the situation, saying American actions have ‘damaged’ diplomacy.
When asked about the ongoing talks, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei asserted that Tehran will reassess the situation following the overnight US strikes.
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This came after the US launched fresh strikes on Iranian targets in retaliation for the downing of a US Apache helicopter.
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US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that the Apache helicopter was downed by Iran during a patrol over the Strait of Hormuz.
“I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said on Truth Social.
He further said that there were two pilots involved and both were safely rescued and were unharmed. “Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,” Trump added.
According to the US Military’s Central Command, an unmanned surface drone was deployed to help rescue the two crew members near the coast of Oman.
“The drone picked them up and transported them to another location on the water where they were then hoisted up to a helicopter for further transport,” said Tim Hawkins, Central Command spokesman.
Amid the fresh escalation in the war, Russia has urged both sides to exercise restraint and cease military attacks.
“We are extremely concerned about the new round of US-Iranian armed confrontation, which began with the unprovoked US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran. We call on both sides to exercise restraint and to immediately cease military attacks,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Before the developments of the last two days, Trump had said that the peace talks with Iran were in the final stage, suggesting a deal could be signed in the next couple of days.
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