President Donald Trump said on Monday that strikes on Iran were paused so that another attempt could be made at negotiations, but if those fail, the U.S. is prepared to respond with force. 

"We are in very deep talks with Iran. If they don't work out, we will go back to very strong military action," Trump told Axios.

Trump said that his patience is wearing thin, and he's not prepared to give Iran much time for diplomacy options to bear fruit. 

Countries that are helping to mediate the talks, as well as other countries in the region, asked Trump to pause the strikes to give negotiations another chance, Trump said, stressing that he wants Iran to make a deal. 

He also pointed to the drop in oil prices and the improvement in the stock market since the pause was announced on Friday.