Trump to hit Iran harder if Tehran does not accept defeat, White House says

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump will hit Iran harder if Tehran fails to accept that the country has been “defeated militarily,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.

“President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again,” Leavitt told reporters in a press briefing.

“If Iran fails to accept the reality of the current moment, if they fail to understand that they have been defeated militarily, and will continue to be, President Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before,” she said.

As the joint U.S.-Israeli war on Iran entered its fourth week, there have been efforts by multiple countries such as Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt to mediate.

Iran is still reviewing a U.S. proposal to end the war, despite an initial response that was negative, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday, indicating that Tehran had so far stopped short of rejecting it outright.

Talks with Iran were still under way, Leavitt said. “Talks continue. They are productive, as the president said on Monday, and they continue to be,” she added.

Citing unnamed sources, media outlets on Tuesday reported that Washington sent Tehran a 15-point plan on ending the war. Leavitt said on Wednesday that elements of the reports were not fully accurate, but she did not provide specifics.

“The White House never confirmed that full plan. There are elements of truth to it, but some of the stories I read were not entirely factual, so I am not going to negotiate on behalf of the president here at the podium,” Leavitt said.

Global equity markets regained some ground while oil prices dipped on Wednesday after the reports about the plan, with investors hoping for an end to a war that has disrupted global energy supplies and raised inflation concerns.

Trump sinks to record low approval rating due to Iran war in new poll

President Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level since he returned to the White House, as rising gas and food prices take a toll on Americans, and the public expresses a growing dislike of his war in Iran, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The weekly poll released on Tuesday showed that 36% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, a decrease of four percentage points (40%) since a similar Reuters poll was conducted last week.

Most Americans appear angry with the president as food and gas prices have surged since the United States and Israel’s joint attack on Iran early Feb. 28. The new Reuters poll said 25% approve of how Trump is handling the current cost of living, a centerpiece of his 2024 presidential election campaign.

The U.S.-Israel war with Iran is proving controversial with Americans, as similar nationwide polls conducted show that around half of voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of the war or the overall military actions in Iran. Trump’s approval rating was at 47% during his first days in office and has hovered at around 40% since last summer, the new poll noted.

Continuous low approval ratings for the president could be unsettling to Republicans seeking to maintain control of Congress after the crucial midterm election votes are all cast in November.

With the midterm primaries already underway, Trump’s standing within the Republican Party remains strong, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll. About 1 in 5 Republicans said they disapprove of the president’s overall performance in the White House, a slight change from about 1 in 7 from last week’s poll.

Yet, the percentage of Republicans polled who disapprove of Trump’s handling of the cost of living rose to 34% from 27% last week. The new Reuters/Ipsos weekly online poll of 1,272 American adults was conducted from March 20 to 23, and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

War remains heavy on Americans’ minds, poll says

The war in Iran, entering a fourth week, continues to weigh heavily on most Americans’ minds, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

The poll discovered that 35% of Americans approve of the U.S. strikes on Iran, down from 37% in a similar poll conducted last week. Those figures remain higher than the first Reuters/Ipsos poll related to the war in Iran, conducted from February 28 to March 1. That poll found 27% of Americans approved of the strikes, 43% disapproved, and 29% were unsure at the time.

Overall, about 61% of those polled disapproved of the strikes, an increase from 59% who disapproved of the strikes from last week’s poll.

From wire reports