Trump warns Iran taking ‘too long’ to negotiate peace deal, will have to ‘pay the price’ after tit-for-tat strikes

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Iran had taken too long to negotiate an agreement over the conflict in the Middle East and warned it would "have to pay the price."

His remarks came in a social media post following an exchange of fire between the United States and Iran, an incident that added pressure to a ceasefire that has been in place since April. In the post, Trump claimed that the Iranian military had been "completely defeated."

Trump took to Truth Social and said, “The Bully of the Middle East is DEAD!!! They've taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now they will have to pay the price!!!”

Oil prices climbed following Trump's latest warning, with US West Texas Intermediate crude rising 2.17% to USD 90.11 per barrel. The global benchmark, Brent crude, also gained 1.9% to reach USD 93.19 per barrel, as per Reuters.

In a separate phone interview with Fox News, Trump indicated that he was moving closer to ordering strikes on Iran's power plants and bridges, citing the lack of progress in ongoing peace negotiations.

“I may keep going. They had a chance to sign a deal and survive,” Fox News quoted him as saying.

The remarks stood in contrast to comments Trump made to reporters on Tuesday, when he said negotiations aimed at securing a lasting end to the war were in their "final throes" and could be concluded within “two or three days.”

Trump, in a separate social media post on Wednesday, hailed the US blockade on Iranian shipping, describing it as "the most successful" in history and referring to it as a "steel wall."

He mentioned that the blockade had effectively disrupted Iranian commerce and deprived the country of funds needed to pay its military personnel, while allowing other nations to continue exporting "lots of oil."

"Praise be to Allah!" Trump said.

US-Iran exchange strikes

Late Tuesday, US forces said they launched strikes on Iran in response to the downing of an American helicopter a day earlier, with Iranian media reporting explosions along the country's southern coastline.

US Central Command later stated that the US Air Force and Navy had targeted command-and-control facilities as well as defense and surveillance sites.

Iran, meanwhile, said it carried out attacks on American military bases in Jordan and Bahrain on Wednesday.

US helicopter shot down by Iran

According to Reuters citing US official, the American attack helicopter whose crash triggered the latest exchange of fire was brought down by an Iranian one-way attack drone. Trump said the two crew members aboard the aircraft were unharmed.

The US military said the helicopter crashed in waters off the coast of Oman while conducting a patrol mission at about 3 am on Tuesday (2300 GMT Monday). It added that the crew was located and rescued by a Navy-operated surface drone.

Iranian state media, citing a military source, reported that no offensive air operations had taken place in the Strait of Hormuz during the previous 24 hours.

While Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi did not directly comment on the helicopter incident, he warned in a post on X that the presence of foreign forces in the region could increase the risk of accidents or unintended crossfire.

"To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave," he said.