US President Donald Trump has confirmed to Fox News that Washington is ready to carry out heavy strikes against Iran if his 8pm deadline is not met.

Trump made the comments during a phone interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, promising that “8pm is happening.”

“I just got off the phone with the president and he called and I said, ’Listen, if you were to put odds on it, what were the odds that this is going to end up being a negotiated deal?’

“He said he wasn’t going to put odds on it. But he said, ‘8 pm is happening.’ That’s what he said,“ Baier recalls.

He adds that according to Trump, “there is going to be an attack like they (Iran) have not seen”.

“Now, he said [that] if negotiations move forward today and there is something concrete, that could change. But at this hour, he didn’t want to put odds on it. But he said it is moving forward with the plans that we have. That’s a huge deal,“ Baier added.