Trump weighs Iran deal versus strike to 'finish them off'

President Donald Trump said Sunday he is deciding whether to strike a deal with Iran or "finish them off," telling Fox News the United States now controls the Strait of Hormuz, before leaving for a campaign stop in Michigan.

President Donald Trump said Sunday he is weighing whether to reach an agreement with Iran or resume military action to "finish them off," as tensions over the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz remain high.

"They have never been hit so hard. And now my question is, do I make a deal with them or do I finish them off? That's the only question," Trump said in a phone interview with Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures."

He also claimed the U.S. now controls the waterway. "We now control the Hormuz Strait. They get nothing. We get everything," Trump said, adding that more business was moving through the strait than before the war began thanks to the Navy's blockade.

Attack on Obama's nuclear deal

Trump again took aim at the 2015 nuclear agreement negotiated under former President Barack Obama, calling it "the worst and dumbest deal I've ever seen" and repeating his claim that Obama sent Iran $1.7 billion in cash on a plane. "He thought he could buy his way out and they thought he was a sucker," Trump said. "And I'm not a sucker."

Obama had criticized the Iran war at a rally in Detroit on Saturday, calling it an unnecessary war that "nobody had asked for and nobody voted for."

'Two very different sets of intelligence'

Speaking to reporters before departing for a campaign stop in Michigan, Trump was asked about recently declassified intelligence that said Iran was in the advanced stages of planning attacks on the United States. "There are two very different sets of intelligence reports. I have them both," he said. "We have very advanced sets of intelligence on Iran, and we're doing very well with Iran."

Trump suggested on Friday that Washington "may do another little Epic Fury," and reports say U.S. and Israeli officials have drawn up plans for a new round of strikes that could come after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Brent crude rose above $117 a barrel last week.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that a possible resumption of the war would not change Tehran's positions.

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