ISTANBUL

Recent remarks by US President Donald Trump suggest he is “desperate” to secure a deal with Iran to end the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, a former Pentagon adviser said Thursday.

“What the Iranian regime is getting from President Trump’s speeches is that he is actually desperate to make a deal,” former Pentagon adviser Jasmine El-Gamal told CNN.

“They know that if they continue to impose these costs on the US, Gulf allies, global energy markets, they have a better chance of getting to the negotiating table on their terms," she added. 

Her comments came after Trump said Wednesday that the US would hit Iran "very hard" over the coming weeks. 

"We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Age, where they belong," he added. 

El-Gamal said Trump’s back-and-forth between calls for negotiations and threats of escalation is hindering progress toward ending the conflict.

“We’re not closer than we were last week because he keeps doing the same thing, vacillate between these two positions," she said. 

"We want a deal but we’re also going to bomb you to the stone age if you don’t give it to us. That’s not the way you bring an adversary to the negotiating table," she added.

Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.