DUBAI/WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters): US President Donald Trump urged Iran on Wednesday to 'get smart soon' and sign a deal, following days of deadlock in efforts to end the conflict and a media report that the US would extend its blockade of Iran's ports.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump, who has said Iran can call if it wants to talk and has stressed repeatedly that Tehran cannot have a nuclear weapon, said the country "couldn't get its act together".
The Wall Street Journal cited US officials as saying the president had instructed aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran's ports in a bid to force Tehran to capitulate.
Officials said Trump had opted to continue squeezing Iran's economy and oil exports with the blockade as his other options - resuming bombing or walking away from the conflict - carried more risk, according to the WSJ.
"They don't know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They'd better get smart soon!" Trump said in Wednesday's post, without explaining what such a deal would entail.
Iran's most recent offer for resolving the two-month war, suspended since April 8 under a ceasefire agreement, would set aside discussion of its nuclear programme until the conflict is formally ended and shipping issues resolved.
However, that proposal did not meet Trump's demand to have the nuclear issue discussed from the outset.
US intelligence agencies, at the request of senior administration officials, are studying how Iran would respond if Trump were to declare a unilateral victory in the two-month-old war that has become a liability for the White House, two US officials and a person familiar with the matter said.
Tehran has largely blocked all shipping apart from its own from the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for global energy supplies, since the war began on February 28. This month, the US began blockading Iranian ships.
Trump's Truth Social post featured a mock-up image of himself in dark glasses and wielding a machine gun with the caption "No more Mr. Nice Guy."
Iran no longer has a single, undisputed clerical arbiter at the pinnacle of power since several senior Iranian political and military figures, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were killed in US-Israeli strikes.
The elevation of Khamenei's wounded son, Mojtaba, to replace him has handed more power to hardline commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian officials and analysts say.
Trump met top officials from energy companies at the White House on Tuesday to discuss US oil production, shipping and gas, an official said.
AFP adds, US President Donald Trump claimed Tuesday that Iran wants the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though he did not clarify how the message was conveyed.
In a social media post, Trump also alleged that Iran is in a "state of collapse," without providing evidence or further details.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said it may not be necessary to remove all naval mines reportedly placed in the strait to resume maritime traffic.
"You just need a pathway for ships to move in and out. I think that can happen quickly," Wright told Bloomberg, suggesting a limited clearance operation could restore shipping.
The developments come as Trump is reportedly dissatisfied with Iran's latest proposal aimed at ending the conflict. According to US media reports citing White House officials, the proposal includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, while postponing negotiations on Tehran's nuclear programme.
Trump has told US national security officials to prepare for a long blockade of Iran's ports in order to compel Tehran to give up its nuclear program, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Trump, according to the report, does not believe that Iran is negotiating in good faith and hopes it can be forced to suspend uranium enrichment for 20 years and accept tight restrictions thereafter.
"They better get smart soon!" Trump declared, in a post on his social media platform.
