'Sit back and relax': Trump urges Democrats and 'unpatriotic' Republicans to be patient on Iran deal

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday slammed his critics, claiming they were making it harder for him to work on a deal with Iran. Assuring that Tehran "really wanted to make a deal," Trump urged Democrats whom he called "Dumocrats" and critics within his own party, or as he described "unpatriotic Republicans," to "sit back and relax" as everything was "going to work out." The comments come as tensions escalated in the Middle East with the U.S. military and Iran's Revolutionary Guards exchanging strikes over the weekend in the three-month-long war. 

"Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the U.S.A. and those that ​are with us," Trump wrote in his post an ​hour after midnight. He then went on to lash out at the critics, claiming that the negativity was making it tougher for him to negotiate a deal. "But don't the Dumocrats, and various seemingly unpatriotic Republicans, understand that it is MUCH tougher for me to properly do my job and negotiate, when political hacks keep negatively 'chirping,' at ​levels never ​seen before, over ⁠and over again, that I should move faster, or move slower, or go to ​war, or not go to war, or whatever," ​the President wrote. "Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end - It always ⁠does!" he concluded.

The comments come as Trump ​on Friday said he would ​soon decide on a proposed deal to extend the ceasefire with Iran and negotiate an arrangement over Iran's nuclear capabilities. According to an Axios report published Saturday, Trump had requested several amendments to the agreement that his envoys had reached with Iranian officials. Citing unnamed U.S. officials, the report said the requests highlighted several issues, including the handover of Iran's nuclear material. Meanwhile, Iranian officials have said that a deal to end the war must include guarantees for a ceasefire in Lebanon, forcing Israel to stop its ground offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, CNBC reported.

However, tensions flared over the weekend as Israeli forces continued to advance, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcoming the capture of the strategic site of Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon. The U.S. Central Command also said that it launched "self-defence strikes" in response to "aggressive Iranian actions," which included a U.S. drone being shot down over international waters.

The US military confirmed that the strikes were conducted in the city of Goruk, near Iran's southern coast, and Qeshm, an island in the Strait. In response, Tehran said it targeted an American base, marking the third known escalation in a week around the critical oil shipping lane, the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC did not specify the location of the attack, but the BBC reported that Kuwait, which hosts a U.S. base, said its air defence system was "confronting hostile missile and drone attacks" without providing further detail.

In a statement on social media, Kuwait's Foreign Ministry condemned the attacks from Iran, saying they represent "a dangerous escalation" for the country's security and "undermine efforts aimed at de-escalating tensions" in the region.