Trump Endorses Op-Ed Suggesting Iran Hardliners’ Killing, Tehran Calls It ‘Moral Failure’

Last Updated:April 24, 2026, 09:14 IST

The piece controversially suggested that if factions in Iran are divided over a deal, those opposing it should be eliminated.

US President Donald Trump signalled a hardline stance on Iran by backing a The Washington Post op-ed that challenges the idea of rushing into any deal, even killing the leaders who oppose compromising.

Trump shared columnist Marc Thiessen’s article on Truth Social, endorsing it with the remark, “Very true!!!".

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The piece controversially suggested that if factions in Iran are divided over a deal, those opposing it should be eliminated.

Trump not only just like Thiessen’s post from X, but also amplified the message by reposting it on his own platform, reinforcing the same stance.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei, accused that America now seemed to be championing “terrorism, murder, and mass violence" instead of its traditional values.

“The President of the United States has reposted a statement from an individual openly calling for ‘killing the ones who don’t want a deal.’ The United States, which once presented itself as a cradle of democracy, freedom, and human values, now appears to become a promoter of terrorism, murder, and mass violence. What should one call this, if not a profound moral failure?" he wrote on X.

Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give its negotiators more time to present a peace proposal. However, it remains unclear whether Iran has agreed to engage with the US delegation, even as Trump indicated that a second round of talks could take place as early as Friday.

Marc Thiessen, in his piece, argued that Iran is getting crushed on two fronts at once. Almost 40 days of nonstop US and Israeli strikes have wrecked big parts of their military. Now a tight American naval blockade has completely stopped sea trade in and out of the country. Ninety-five percent of Iran’s business flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

According to him, a significant portion of Iran’s oil revenue is channelled directly towards funding the military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, leaving little for other needs. He argued that without oil income, sustaining payments to fighters would become difficult.

He also pointed to Iran’s reliance on fuel imports, warning that shortages could trigger public unrest. In his view, the country is running out of oil, financial resources and time.

Thiessen said US and Israeli strikes have already weakened much of Iran’s offensive military capacity, but the ceasefire came into effect with about 14 days of planned targets still remaining, according to Centcom chief Adm. Brad Cooper. Without the truce, the campaign would likely have been completed by now.

He further laid out an aggressive plan if Iran continues to refuse his terms, saying that Trump should give Cooper those final 14 days. “He should maintain the blockade, strangling Iran economically, while the U.S. finishes the job militarily. Together with Israel, he should eliminate the Iranian leaders resisting a deal. He should execute Cooper’s plan to open the Strait of Hormuz by force to all traffic except Iranian ships."

“And then he should issue Iran’s remaining leaders a final ultimatum: Capitulate or the U.S. will destroy Kharg Island, through which 90 percent of Iran’s oil flows, delivering apermanent blow to the Iranian military, which depends on that revenue to sustain its power. Those two weeks of major combat, combined with the blockade, will dramatically increase Trump’s leverage at the negotiating table," Thiessen added.

And if Iran is still not willing to meet Trump’s demands, the column says he can declare victory without a deal, and give the Iranian people the green light to drive the weakened regime from power.

The war initiated by the US and Israel on February 28 has been on hold since a ceasefire came into effect on April 8, though the situation continues to remain fragile. Donald Trump pulled back from threats to resume strikes in the final hours before the ceasefire deadline. However, there has been no formal extension of the truce, and no new round of talks has been announced.

News world Trump Endorses Op-Ed Suggesting Iran Hardliners’ Killing, Tehran Calls It ‘Moral Failure’

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