Trump rules out Sunday strikes on Iran but warns of 'finishing them off'

No Sunday attack

US President Donald Trump on Sunday ruled out immediate military action against Iran within the next 24 hours, telling reporters as he departed the White House for a campaign rally in Michigan: "Would I tell you that? But the answer is no. There will not be a strike." He said he had received "two very different sets of intelligence reports" described as "very advanced" from his national security team, while an unnamed US official told Israeli news channel i24NEWS that the president is prepared to "shift gears on Iran" and that military action appears no longer to be "a question of if, but of when," according to the network.

Ultimatum to Tehran

Speaking to Fox News earlier Sunday, Trump framed his approach to Tehran as a stark ultimatum between diplomacy and total destruction, asking: "Do I make a deal with them, or do I finish them off? That's the only question." He asserted that American forces exert full maritime dominance over the Gulf transit corridor, stating: "Remember, we now control the Hormuz Strait. They get nothing. Yes, we get everything," and suggested Saturday that Washington could either launch fresh military strikes or secure a comprehensive accord while questioning whether Tehran would honor potential commitments.

Gulf conflict

The remarks come amid the ongoing war between the US, Israel and Iran, which erupted in late February following joint US-Israeli strikes against the Islamic Republic and subsequent retaliation. Despite a ceasefire agreement and a memorandum to conclude a final peace deal, control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz remains a central friction point in the conflict, with Trump maintaining that Washington is doing "well with Iran" even as he threatens expanded military operations and claims commercial activity through the vital chokepoint now exceeds pre-war levels despite the blockade.

Global engagements

Turning to the war in Eastern Europe, Trump indicated that high-level diplomatic engagements involving Russia, Ukraine and the US are approaching, asserting: "We're going to be having some pretty soon, and I think they both want to make a deal," while addressing the Brazilian presidential election by refraining from backing any candidate and noting officials are actively watching the race. On immigration, he linked urban unrest across French, Italian, Belgian and Spanish cities to lax border enforcement, claimed he had warned French President Emmanuel Macron that "'You are destroying France,'" and stated that "zero illegal aliens" entered the US over the past 18 months, while separately accusing Taiwan of having "stolen" the entire US semiconductor sector through predatory pricing.