President Donald Trump posted on social media early Wednesday, warning of new consequences if Tehran does not agree to a revised nuclear deal. “Iran can’t get their act together. They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon!” he wrote, adding, “No more Mr. Nice Guy!”
Trump also appeared to rebuke German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, saying Merz “doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” Trump accused Merz of believing “it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” a claim Merz did not make in his earlier criticism of U.S. policy. Trump added, “If Iran had a Nuclear Weapon, the whole World would be held hostage. I am doing something with Iran, right now, that other Nations, or Presidents, should have done long ago,” and blamed Germany’s poor performance “both Economically, and otherwise.” Merz had said at an event on Monday that the U.S. had “no strategy” in Iran and was “being humiliated by the Iranian state leadership.” (Reporting by ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart.)
Separately, the Israel Defense Forces said on X that strikes on alleged Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon continued through Tuesday. The IDF said operations were occurring “north of the forward defense line,” a line inside southern Lebanon that Israeli forces are advancing toward as the planned forward boundary of a buffer zone along the Israeli-Lebanese border. The military also reported “several incidents” of drone attacks on Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Tuesday; one Israeli soldier was “lightly wounded.”
The Trump administration also announced additional measures targeting nearly three dozen entities and individuals it accuses of running Iran’s shadow banking networks. The administration says those channels allow the Iranian regime to evade sanctions and pocket “tens of billions of dollars.” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement, “By dismantling these financial channels, we advance the Administration’s policy in the conflict with Iran and underscore our commitment to imposing maximum pressure on Iran.” (Reporting by ABC News’ Shannon Kingston.)