President Trump says Iran “getting hit so hard” by US strikes while adding that Tehran is “not ready to make a deal.”By David Rosenberg, World Israel NewsPresident Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran is seeking an agreement with the United States but remains unwilling to accept terms Washington considers reliable, as US forces continued an intensified campaign against Iranian military targets.Speaking at a rally in Marietta, Georgia, Trump said the pressure created by American attacks had pushed Tehran toward negotiations, but accused Iranian leaders of repeatedly attempting to revise potential agreements.“They’re getting hit so hard, and they want to make a deal — but I say they’re not ready to make a deal because every time they make a deal they want to change it and everything,” Trump said. “They’re not ready.”Trump declared that the United States was “winning in the Islamic Republic of Iran” and said his administration was ensuring that Tehran would never again be able to inflict the damage it had caused elsewhere.The president also accused the Iranian government of killing more than 52,000 demonstrators during the country’s recent protest movement.“They’ve killed 52,000-plus protesters,” Trump said. “People that were protesting have been killed over the last four months. Nobody wants to talk about it.”Trump did not identify the source of that figure, which has not been independently verified. Human rights organizations have documented at least 7,000 deaths during the crackdown while warning that the actual toll is probably considerably higher because of communications restrictions, secret burials and the difficulty of obtaining information from inside Iran.The remarks followed renewed executions of people convicted over their involvement in anti-government demonstrations. Iran’s judiciary announced Sunday that Erfan Esfandiari and Gol Mohammad Mohammadi had been executed over alleged connections to the deaths of police officers during the unrest.Trump called Iranian officials “savages” in a social-media post responding to the executions.His comments in Georgia came amid few public signs of progress toward restoring the interim ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. Iranian officials have said diplomatic messages are still being exchanged through intermediaries, but both governments continue to accuse the other of obstructing an agreement.Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Washington remained prepared to negotiate but did not believe Iran was approaching the discussions seriously.The United States is open to talks, Rubio said, “but right now they don’t seem to be serious about that.”Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni recently traveled to Pakistan, which has played a central mediating role in the conflict. Regional governments, including Pakistan and Turkey, have continued attempts to prevent further escalation, although diplomats have expressed growing pessimism about the chances of an immediate breakthrough.The main dispute has increasingly centered on control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says it has the right to manage traffic and charge vessels for passage through the strategic waterway, while Washington insists Tehran cannot impose tolls or attack ships that refuse to comply.Iran has repeatedly targeted commercial vessels using a shipping corridor protected by US forces. Tehran says it is responding to the American blockade of Iranian ports and continuing US attacks.Trump issued a direct warning earlier Wednesday that future Iranian attacks on shipping would trigger strikes against bridges and power stations inside the country.“From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran,” Trump wrote.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded by warning that Tehran would retaliate against any attacks on its infrastructure.“Any aggression against Iran, including our infrastructure, will compel a powerful and decisive response,” Araghchi said.Iran has already targeted regional energy and water infrastructure during the latest fighting, including desalination facilities relied upon by Gulf states. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf also rejected US demands that Tehran restore prewar conditions in the Strait of Hormuz.“We have repeatedly said that the situation of the strait will not return to prewar conditions,” Qalibaf said.US Central Command announced Wednesday that American forces were conducting their 12th consecutive night of attacks against Iran. The latest strikes followed the completion of an earlier wave targeting military command centers, maritime systems, aircraft hangars, drone-storage facilities and logistics infrastructure.Central Command said the campaign was intended to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters.”Trump delivered his Georgia remarks after attending the transfer at Dover Air Force Base of four American service members killed in recent Iranian attacks in Jordan and Iraq.The post ‘Iran not ready to make a deal,’ Trump declares after vowing to expand retaliatory strikes appeared first on World Israel News.