'I Don't Know If They'll Honour The Deal': President Trump Says Iran Wants Negotiations After Fresh US Retaliatory Strikes, Questions Tehran's Credibility | Video
· Free Press Journal

Washington: US President Donald Trump said that Iran wants to negotiate after fresh US retaliatory strikes, but questioned whether Tehran could be trusted to honour any agreement, saying Washington would continue responding forcefully while keeping its focus on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
West Asia Conflict: US Strikes Iran For Second Straight Day As Trump Warns Of More Military Action; Tehran Threatens Strait Of Hormuz Closure | Video"We hit back much harder," Trump said on Wednesday (local time).
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Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while returning to Washington after the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump said the United States had responded after attacks on commercial vessels.
"They just we just hit it very hard, and I say we hit them 20 to 1; every time they hit us, we're going to hit them 20. And we did it last night; we did a little something today, but it was really retribution for last night they hit actually three boats, not two, and when they hit we hit back much harder," Trump said.
.@POTUS: "We just hit them very hard, and I say we hit them 20-to-1 — every time they hit us, we're going to hit them 20... When they hit, we hit back much harder." https://t.co/XIthjknwBH pic.twitter.com/8G2sHxZBNA
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 9, 2026
Asked whether the exchange marked a return to full-scale military conflict, Trump said, "I don't know, I don't know," but added that Washington had several options.
"We have many ways we can win, but we've already won militarily; they have very little left, and they want to make a deal so badly they called a little while ago they want to make a deal so badly I just don't know if they're worthy of making a deal," he said.
.@POTUS on Iran: "They called a little while ago. They want to make a deal so badly — I just don't know if they're worthy of making a deal. I don't know that they're going to honor the deal. That's the problem." pic.twitter.com/jQTENvyRGM
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 9, 2026
"I don't know that they're going to honour the deal; that's the problem," Trump said.
Asked why Iran would attack commercial vessels if it wanted a deal, Trump said, "Because it's not crazy, to be honest with you, it's so crazy they're a little bit out of control, but they want to make a deal badly."
Trump said the confrontation was centred on denying Iran nuclear weapons.
US President Donald Trump Declares Iran Ceasefire 'Over', Says He Won't Deal With 'Scum' Anymore - VIDEO"It was a de-nuking of Iran, denuclearisation of Iran, so, this is all about taking nuclear weapons, not allowing Iran to have nuclear weapons. And everybody should like that even you," he said.
Trump also dismissed suggestions that a last-minute aircraft change before leaving Turkey was caused by a specific security concern. He said the switch was made so personnel at the air base could view the plane.
Asked whether there had been any credible Iranian threat against Air Force One, Trump said, "All the time I'm number one on their list."
"Were you aware of any credible threat by Iran against Air Force One?"@POTUS: "I have a threat all the time. I'm number one on their list, before you — but if I go, you go, right? So perhaps some of you want to change professions." pic.twitter.com/5VlZBBySwx
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 9, 2026
Trump described the NATO summit as successful and said the alliance had shown unity after earlier strains over defence spending.
"It was a very, very good meeting and people understand that the United States is and we've been treated very unfairly," he said.
VIDEO | US President Donald Trump says this wasn't his last NATO summit, adds that all countries NATO really came through at the summit.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 9, 2026
(Source: Third Party)
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/WFgzl7GbuM
"The meeting today settled a lot of things," Trump added.
He said future US troop decisions in Europe would depend partly on developments involving Greenland and Iran. He also said allies who had earlier declined to help were now eager to assist on Iran.
REPORTER: Are you going to pull more U.S. troops out of Europe? @POTUS: "I haven't made that final determination. A lot is going to depend on Greenland." pic.twitter.com/3r9dVyVv75
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 9, 2026
"They all want to go, and they want to help on Iran so badly, but I don't really need help," Trump said.
Syria, Hezbollah discussed
Trump also praised Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, saying he had "done a great job" and had "unified Syria."
Trump on al-Sharaa: “He has done a really fantastic job as president. He has unified the country in a year and a half.”
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 8, 2026
Trump’s giving big props to al-Sharaa for stabilizing Syria faster than expected after Assad’s fall.
Trump’s calling it like he sees it.
Writer:…
Asked whether al-Sharaa had made commitments on Hezbollah in Lebanon, Trump replied, "He did," but declined to provide details. He also said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "was great" during their meeting.
Q: Did President al-Sharaa make any commitments to you on helping with Hezbollah in Lebanon?
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 9, 2026
Trump: Yeah. I’m not going to tell you what he said. He was great and President Zelenskyy was great. pic.twitter.com/66x3kCOTBe
The latest comments came amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran after military exchanges and attacks on commercial shipping. The Trump administration has said its objective is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, while using military, diplomatic and economic pressure to force Tehran to change course.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)