Washington DC (US)

With the clock ticking for Iran as Trump's final deal looms, Axios reported on Monday (local time), citing a senior administration official, that the US President might hold off on Iran if he sees a deal coming through.

"If the president sees a deal is coming together, he'll probably hold off. But only he and he alone makes that decision," a senior administration official told Axios. It further reported that a defence official said they were "sceptical" there would be any extension this time around.

The report comes shortly after US President Donald Trump gave an ultimatum to Iran to make a deal before Tuesday, 8:00 P.M ET, warning that there'll be "no bridges, no power plants" after that.

Addressing reporters at the White House, Trump said that this is a "critical period" and Washington has given Tehran the necessary time to make a deal to put this war to an end.

"This is a critical period... They asked for an extension of seven days; I gave them 10 days... They have till tomorrow. Now we will see what happens... A lot of people are affected by this. We are giving them until tomorrow, 8 o'clock, Eastern Time. After that, they are going to have no bridges. They are going to have no power plants. Stone ages," Trump said.

Trump admitted that he was dealing with a "much more powerful Iran" when the conflict started on February 28, adding that the US has "decapitated" it, adding that these steps should have been taken 47 years ago.

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"I think it is going fine, but we will have to see. You have to understand; we have been dealing with these people for 47 years. I'm standing here with a much more powerful Iran than a month ago, not anymore. Right now, they are decapitated," he said.

"This should've been handled by the seven presidents, and they are saying now that we should've done this a long time ago. It's not something I like doing," he added.