Trump says Iran has "no choice" but to reach deal as he threatens more strikes

U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran has "no choice" but to reach an agreement with Washington, warning that American military strikes will intensify unless Tehran returns to the negotiating table.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News, Trump said U.S. representatives had been in contact with Iranian officials as recently as about an hour before the interview.

When asked what message had been conveyed to Tehran, Trump replied, "You better make a deal. You're not going to have anybody left."

Trump said the U.S. military would continue and escalate its strikes in the coming days unless Iran agrees to negotiations.

"We're going to hit them very hard tonight. We're going to hit them very hard tomorrow night. We're going to hit them very hard the night after," Trump said.

He added: "And then next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges. We're going to knock out all the power plants. We're going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate."

Trump said U.S. forces were being “very careful with the civilian population,” while reiterating that Tehran must return to negotiations.

The U.S. president also did not rule out a ground invasion of Iran when commenting on the situation surrounding Kharg Island in the south of the country.

By Sabina Mammadli