Amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, US President Donald Trump  described Iranian negotiators as “strange” and cautioned that they must “get serious soon.”

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, claimed that Tehran is “begging” to make a deal and said that Iran has been “militarily obliterated.” 

He wrote in the post, The Iranian negotiators are very different and “strange.” They are “begging” us to make a deal, which they should be doing since they have been militarily obliterated, with zero chance of a comeback, and yet they publicly state that they are only “looking at our proposal.” WRONG!!! They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t be pretty!”

Meanwhile, according to ANI, a Wall Street Journal report has suggested that Trump has told associates in recent days that he wants to avoid a protracted war in Iran and that he hopes to bring the conflict to an end in the coming weeks.

Citing people familiar with the matter, WSJ reported that Trump has privately informed advisors that he thinks the conflict is in its final stages, urging them to stick to the four-to-six-week timeline he has outlined publicly.

The deadline could likely be ahead of the mid-May summit that US President Trump has lined up with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Iran Naval commander killed in strike: Reports

Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, Alireza Tangsiri, has been killed in a strike in Bandar Abbas, according to ANI, Israeli media reported on Thursday, citing an unnamed Israeli official. 

There has been no confirmation from Iran or from the Israeli military on the strike.

Tangsiri was responsible for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Times of Israel report.