US President Donald Trump has warned Iran, saying the "Clock is Ticking" for them to "get moving" before "there won’t be anything left of them."
"TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!" he said on his Truth Social media account on Sunday.
Trump’s remarks came amid repeated threats for Tehran to agree to US demands for a ceasefire, which include a commitment not to enrich nuclear materials and the transfer of enriched uranium at Iranian sites to US forces and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, triggering retaliation from Tehran against Israel, as well as US allies in the Gulf, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
A ceasefire took effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but talks in Islamabad failed to produce a lasting agreement.
US President Donald Trump later extended the truce indefinitely.
While the truce remains ongoing, it has been under increased strain in recent days, with Trump saying on Monday that it was on “massive life support" after rejecting Tehran’s latest ceasefire proposal as “unacceptable.”
“War of choice"
The US-Israeli war on Iran was also on the agenda in Trump’s recent state visit to Beijing.
In a statement released later on Sunday, the White House said Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed that Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon, called to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and agreed that no country or organization can be allowed to charge tolls.”
Iran, for its part, has warned that if the US resumes its “war of choice," it would face growing economic consequences that would have otherwise been “avoidable.”
“Put aside gas price hike and stock market bubble. Real pain begins when US debt and mortgage rates start to jump,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said over the weekend.
