US President Donald Trump has issued a fresh threat against Iran, saying it will be hit “very badly” over the next two-three weeks if there is no peace deal.He said the Strait of Hormuz would open naturally after the conflict, indicating that the opening of the critical waterway — impacting crude and gas prices — was not an immediate military objective for Washington DC.Another European country, Austria, has denied the US permission to use its airspace for military operations against Iran. Italy, Spain and France have already barred their airspace.Trump, during an address to the nation on Wednesday night, dwelled on the ongoing Operation Epic Fury against Iran, saying, “We are on track to complete all military objectives shortly, very shortly. We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two-three weeks.”The US, he said, would continue until the objectives were fully achieved. “We are going to bring them back to the stone age where they belong. During this period of time, if deals are not made, the US has eyes on key targets, Trump said, adding that “if there is no deal, we are going to hit all their power plants. Very hard and probably simultaneously”.Reacting to Trump’s threat of bombing Iran back to the stone age, Tehran termed his remarks “ignorance, not strength”, adding that it was 7,000-year-old civilisation and “cannot be destroyed by bombing”.The Iranian mission to the UN in New York said, “Iran’s civilisation spans more than 7,000 years, whereas the US is barely 250 years old.”Trump, however, said discussions were going on. Iran’s Foreign Minister Sayed Abbas Araghchi had yesterday acknowledged receiving direct messages from Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff.On the blockade of Hormuz by Iran that has led to a spike in crude oil and gas prices, Trump chided the nations who source oil from the Persian Gulf saying, “Go to the strait and just take it, use it for yourself…the hard part is done, so it should be easy”.He said, “In any case, when the conflict is over, the strait will open up naturally. It’ll just open up naturally.”“So to those countries that can’t get fuel, buy oil from the US. We have plenty,” the US President said.On Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, Trump said if Iran tried to get near the nuclear dust (enriched uranium), “we have it under intense satellite, surveillance and control. If we see them make a move…we will hit them very hard.”French President Emmanuel Macron has said the US-Israeli attacks on Iran will not resolve the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme, calling for diplomacy instead. “If there is no framework for diplomatic and technical negotiations, the situation can deteriorate again in a few months or a few years,” said Macron.The French President also dismissed a proposed military operation to open the Strait of Hormuz, saying it was “unrealistic”.In Washington DC, Trump, speaking about the Iranian regime, said “a regime change was not our goal, we never said change, but regime change has occurred because their leaders are dead”. The new group is less radical and much more reasonable.The US, he said, had not hit Iran’s oil “even though that’s the easiest target” because it would not give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding. He slammed the Iranian regime, saying they continued their quest for nuclear weapons. “They wanted to produce as many missiles as possible and with the longest range possible,” he said.“They had no intention of bending, they pursued nuclear weapons. They were also rapidly building a stockpile of conventional and ballistic missiles,” Trump said.Trump said many Americans were concerned over the recent rise and gas prices.Meanwhile, the commander of the US Central Command, Brad Cooper, released a brief statement reiterating the US stance on its military operations in Iran. “We are making undeniable progress,” Cooper was quoted as saying in a CENTCOM post on X.