TRUMP PREFERS PEACE BUT READY TO ‘UNLEASH HELL’ ON IRAN: WHITE HOUSE

ISTANBUL, March 26 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- US President Donald Trump favours a peaceful resolution with Iran but is prepared to escalate sharply if Tehran fails to accept the "reality of the current moment," the White House said Wednesday, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

Washington postponed planned strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure after "productive conversations" over the last three days, spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

She said if Iran fails to accept that it has "been defeated militarily," Trump will ensure the country is "hit harder than they have ever been hit before." She added that the president "does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell."

Leavitt also warned Tehran against "miscalculation," claiming its last miscalculation had cost Iran its senior leadership, navy, air force and air defence systems. Any further violence, she said, would result from Iran refusing to accept defeat and come to a deal.

She said the administration does not consider congressional authorisation "necessary" for strikes against Iran, and acknowledged that no specific timeline exists for the first oil tanker to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, though officials are working to make it happen "as quickly as possible."

Leavitt said the US has destroyed more than 140 Iranian naval vessels, including nearly 50 minelayers, in "the largest elimination of a navy on the face of the planet in a three-week period since World War II."

She added that during the weekend, the US dropped several 5,000-pound bombs on an underground facility used to store anti-ship cruise missiles and mobile missile launchers positioned along the Strait of Hormuz coastline.

Trump, Leavitt added, wants to see an Iranian leadership that is "much more favourable" to Washington, willing to cooperate with the US and no longer chanting "Death to America!"

Asked about Iranian state television reports that Tehran rejected a US 15-point plan to end the war, Leavitt said talks have not broken down. "They have not. Talks continue. They are productive, as the president said on Monday, and they continue to be," she said.

On the reported plan, Leavitt urged caution, saying she had seen a plan "floated in the media" but that the White House had never confirmed it.

"There are elements of truth to it, but some of the stories I read were not entirely factual," she added.

The US has reportedly sent Iran a 15-point plan outlining steps on Tehran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, as well as maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran rejected the proposal, saying any ceasefire would occur on its terms and timeline, and outlined five conditions for ending the war, including a complete halt to "aggression and assassinations."

On possible face-to-face talks, including reports of a potential meeting in Pakistan, Leavitt said nothing should be considered official until formally announced by the White House, cautioning against getting "ahead of our skis" on any talks planned for the weekend.

She also dismissed claims by former counterterrorism director Joe Kent, who alleged the US had shifted its red line from preventing a nuclear weapon to preventing nuclear enrichment to justify the war. She said Kent "resigned in disgrace," calling his assertions "ridiculous and laughable," and said his accusations carry "zero credibility."

The US and Israel have struck Iran since Feb. 28, killing more than 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, prompting Iranian retaliatory strikes across the region and severely disrupting global oil flows.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU