President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric against Iran on Sunday, warning that “the clock is ticking” as peace negotiations between Washington and Tehran remain stalled. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.”
The warning comes after the White House rejected Iran’s latest response to its peace proposal last week, which Trump described as “totally unacceptable.” Tehran had sought to separate nuclear talks from broader peace negotiations, a demand the administration dismissed. Since the conflict with Israel escalated in February, Trump has pressed Iran to abandon its nuclear enrichment program, which he insists must be a non-negotiable part of any settlement.
Trump’s threat also follows his recent comment to reporters that the U.S.-Israel ceasefire was on “life support” after it was extended late last month. Earlier Sunday, Trump spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to NewsNation’s Kellie Meyer. The two leaders discussed the Middle East conflict and Trump’s recent visit to China, Netanyahu told his cabinet.
During that high-stakes meeting in Beijing, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping also addressed the war. Xi offered to help mediate an end to the conflict, but Trump rebuffed the offer. “You know the problem with help? When somebody helps you, they always want something on the other side,” Trump told Fox News’s Bret Baier. “I told him, ‘We don’t need any help.’”
Throughout the two-month-long Iran conflict, Trump has maintained that U.S. military strikes have severely degraded Iran’s military infrastructure, leaving Tehran with little leverage in negotiations. “We really had the confines of a deal; no nuclear, they were going to give us the dust… and every time they’d make a deal, the next day it’s like we didn’t have that conversation, and that’s taken place about five times,” Trump told Baier in Beijing. He added, “There’s something wrong with them, and actually, they’re crazy, and you know what? Because of that, they cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Pakistan has been acting as a mediator between the U.S. and Iran amid the impasse. Last month, Trump announced he would no longer send a delegation overseas for in-person talks, instead demanding that Iranian officials travel to the U.S. or negotiate by phone. The shift has further complicated efforts to restart dialogue.
The standoff carries significant political implications for Trump, as high gas prices tied to the conflict threaten GOP midterm hopes. Meanwhile, Trump’s credibility crisis continues to erode U.S. alliances, raising questions about the administration’s ability to sustain a coherent Iran strategy.
