President Donald Trump launched a barrage of posts targeting Iran and the previous Democratic administration as Tehran prepared its response to a mediation proposal to end hostilities. Because his comments followed reports that Iran had delivered its reply to the mediator, analysts say they were intended to shape public opinion and preserve U.S. leverage in any forthcoming negotiations. On May 10 (local time), Trump wrote on his social platform Truth Social that “Iran has played the United States and the world for 47 years,” accusing Tehran of repeating a “DELAY, DELAY, DELAY!” tactic. He added that when “Barack Hussein Obama” became president, Iran finally hit the “JACKPOT.”
The remarks came two days after Trump said on May 8 that he expected to receive Iran’s letter soon. They drew particular attention because Iran’s state-run IRNA reported that Tehran had forwarded its reply to the mediator, Pakistan, shortly before Trump posted. By criticizing Iran’s “delay tactics” before the reply’s contents were public, he raised pressure preemptively.
Trump also attacked Democratic foreign policy by referencing reports that large sums of cash reached Iran during the Obama administration. He appeared to be referring to the episode in which the Obama administration transferred roughly 400 million USD (approximately 533.3 billion KRW) in cash to Iran shortly after the 2016 JCPOA was finalized. At the time, Republicans accused the transfer of effectively serving as ransom or payment for the nuclear deal and condemned it as “humiliating diplomacy.”
At the end of his post, Trump added, “He (Obama) was a disaster as a leader, but not as bad as ‘Sleepy Joe’ Biden,” continuing his criticism of the previous administration.
Diplomats and analysts say Trump may be building political cover to justify a hardline response if Iran’s reply falls short of U.S. demands. With uncertainty still clouding the Middle East, observers are watching how Trump’s confrontational approach could influence the negotiation table.
