Trump: ‘When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?’

President Trump on Tuesday questioned when the Iranian people would “rise up and fight,” as he dismissed the notion the U.S. was trying to pressure Tehran to renew negotiations as the war enters its seventh month.

Trump noted that he “couldn’t care less” whether Iran signs an agreement with the U.S. or not.

“I’m not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table, as ABC Fake News reported,” the president wrote on Truth Social . “I couldn’t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement.”

He appeared to be responding to a report from ABC News chief White House correspondent Mary Bruce that said the administration was looking to ramp up economic pressure on Iran. The report cited Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent telling Fox Business in a recent interview that the U.S. would “economically asphyxiate Iran and force them to the bargaining table.”

Bessent has repeatedly tied the administration’s economic campaign against Iran to bringing the country back to talks after a signed memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran failed.

On Monday, he suggested Iran’s economy could collapse “ within weeks or months ,” though he added that a full collapse would not be necessary if Iranian leaders “come to their senses.”

The Treasury Department chief also threatened additional sanctions against Iranian banks and warned that countries and financial institutions that continue to do business with the Islamic Republic could face consequences.

Trump, however, said Tuesday evening that he prefers the U.S.’s current position and doubled down on previous statements that reaching an agreement with the regime was not a priority.

“I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing,” he wrote. “They are just playing out the inevitable.”

“When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?” the president added.

U.S. forces launched a new round of strikes at Iran on Tuesday, targeting its air defenses and other military assets. The strikes were in response to Iranian attacks on U.S. military assets in Jordan and on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz .

Trump warned Tehran earlier Tuesday that if Iran retaliated, it would be hit at a “much harder and higher level.”

Iran nevertheless fired missiles and drones at U.S. military assets across the Middle East early Wednesday, including in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq.