US President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that he has arrived at a critical turning point in the conflict with Iran, stating that serious consequences would follow if Tehran does not change course.Speaking in an interview with Fox News about his approach to the ongoing war, Trump said, “My question is, if and when do I blow the entire nation up? They had better behave”.Laying out the options before him, the US President said he could destroy the country, allow it to collapse economically, or seek a diplomatic resolution, while predicting that “very big things are going to be happening in the not-so-distant future”.Trump’s remark arrives amid reports that the US and its regional allies were preparing to resume operation against Iran.Responding to the reports, Iran’s central command stated that any US attack would be met with retaliation “without any limitations or considerations”.Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the country needed to pursue both military action and negotiation at the appropriate moment.“We believe that the duality of war or negotiation is not real, but that we must both fight and negotiate. We must fight sensibly and decisively and negotiate with authority and rationality at the right time,” Ghalibaf told the Iranian Parliament.He described Iran’s diplomatic stance as “completely clear, rational, and non-negotiable,” and said Tehran’s conditions had already been passed on to the other side via mediators.“The enemy knows very well that the path of deception and unilateral imposition is closed,” Ghalibaf said.On Saturday, Iran relayed its seven conditions for a truce to the US through Qatari mediators, warning that it would close the Strait of Hormuz and pursue a “decisive war” if Washington rejects its demands.Al Jazeera reported that Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council, said Tehran was awaiting a response from Trump.Ahead of the UN general assembly’s high-level week beginning Monday, Trump signaled openness to diplomacy, saying he would “probably be open” to talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
