US President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to "blow the hell out of" Iran if the negotiations for a ceasefire deal failed.
"We are very close to a deal but if negotiations fail, I'm gonna blow the hell out of them," Trump said during an interview with NCB, recorded Friday.
In the interview broadcast on Sunday, Trump also stated that he will not unfreeze Iranian assets before reaching an agreement with Tehran.
Asked whether he would be willing, as part of a potential agreement, to unfreeze Iranian assets or lift certain sanctions against Iran, Trump replied: "No."
"(That) comes after. If they behave, if they do a good job, we start talking."
Iran has demanded that billions in frozen assets be unblocked.
According to a source close to the matter, the US Treasury is considering the possibility that Iran's assets could be tapped to compensate Gulf states for damages caused by Iranian strikes.
Trump reiterated that he knows exactly where the enriched uranium is located in Iran and wants to recover it one way or another, while remaining vague about whether he would send in US troops to do so.
"If we make a deal, if we make a deal now we're friendly, we'll all go together" to recover this uranium, he said. "We'll take it out and destroy it."
The fate of the enriched uranium is one of the most difficult points in reaching an agreement to end the war waged by the United States and Israel against Iran.
Speaking at NBC's "Meet the Press," Trump also called for more "surgical" strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon and said he is not demanding the conflict be included in a peace deal with Iran.
Trump's comments came as Israel continued strikes on Lebanon, despite a ceasefire deal with the Lebanese government.
"I'd like to see a more surgical attack on Hezbollah. I think it should be more surgical," Trump said.
"I'd like to see Lebanon have a better life," he added.
Israel carried out strikes on Sunday on the southern suburbs of Beirut, claiming it was retaliating for attacks targeting its territory.
Asked whether he was demanding that Lebanon be included in the Iran deal, Trump replied: "No, no."
"Not at all. I'm not demanding," he said. "I think they'd like to see it, but I'm not demanding."
Trump has said previously he would like to "separate" the discussions on Lebanon from the negotiations on an agreement with Iran, while Tehran, on the contrary, wants to link the two conflicts.
Trump confirmed in an interview last week with The New York Post that he had a tense phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during which he reportedly reprimanded his close ally about the Israeli offensive in Lebanon.
Israel has killed over 3,560 people, including children and journalists, since it intensified attacks on Lebanon since March 2, days after it attacked Iran in a joint operation with the US.
29 Israeli soldiers and one civilian contractor have also been killed in the fighting in Lebanon, according to the army.
A ceasefire that was supposed to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on April 17, but has never been fully respected.
In the interview, Trump also said that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa -- a former jihadist who has forged close ties with the United States -- would "love to help" forge an agreement in the Lebanon conflict.
"We can recommend Syria. Syria's doing a very good job of cleaning up their act. They have a very good leader," he said. "And he would love to help."
(With inputs from AFP)
