Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Oct 4: US President Donald Trump has warned that Washington will decide its next course of action on Iran, saying Tehran will face the “easy way or the hard way” as the conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate.

“Iran has been decimated. So the only question is, it will either be the easy way or the hard way. We will have it the easy way or the hard way,” Trump told reporters outside the White House.

Trump did not disclose details of the measures he is considering against Iran or provide a timeline for any decision. He said the situation was progressing favourably and that Iran was “not doing well.”

Earlier, when asked about his strategy concerning Iran, Trump said revealing his plans would make major headlines.

“If I told you, you'd have a major story, right? But you will see. Working out very well. Iran is not doing well,” he said.

Trump has previously predicted that the conflict with Iran would end “very quickly” and said oil prices would fall sharply once hostilities end. He has also claimed that Iran has been severely weakened economically and militarily.

Speaking to reporters in Texas, Trump said Iran would soon have to choose how the conflict ends.

“Iran will very soon be ending one way or the other,” he said.

“It’ll either just say, look, they have 301 per cent inflation. They have no money; they have no currency. Their military has been defeated, their navy is gone, their air force is gone, everything's gone,” Trump added.

“And, one way or the other, it’s going to end very quickly. And when that ends, oil prices are going to drop like a rock,” he said.

Trump's latest remarks come amid continued US pressure on Tehran, with preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons capability remaining a key focus of Washington's policy toward the country.