Trump says ‘not satisfied’ with new Iran proposal
‘They all want to make a deal, but they’re all messed up,’ says of Iranian leadership
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United States President Donald Trump said on Friday that he was “not satisfied” with Iran’s latest proposal in negotiations to end the war between the countries.
“They want to make a deal, I’m not satisfied with it, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Trump did not elaborate on what he sees as the proposal’s shortcomings.
The president said negotiations continued by phone after he called off his envoys’ trip to Pakistan last week. He expressed frustration with Iran’s leadership, which he described as fractured.
“It’s a very disjointed leadership,” he said. “They all want to make a deal, but they’re all messed up.”
He further said that he had “great respect” for Pakistan, Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Trump added that Pakistan was “continuing to worh with us” in the negotiation process.
Iranian state media reported earlier that Iran submitted its latest proposal for negotiations with the US to mediator Pakistan.
IRNA reported that according to its foreign policy correspondent, the country “delivered the text of its latest negotiation plan to Pakistan on Thursday evening, May 10, as a mediator in negotiations with the US”.
The White House said it would not detail private diplomatic conversations when asked about Iran’s new proposal.
“We do not detail private diplomatic conversations. President Trump has been clear that Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon, and negotiations continue to ensure the short- and long-term national security of the United States,” spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.
Earlier, a senior United Arab Emirates official said that Tehran could not be trusted over any unilateral arrangements it makes for the Strait of Hormuz, in a sign of deep mistrust on all sides as efforts to end the US-Israeli war on Iran remained at an impasse.
Two months into the conflict, the vital sea channel is still largely closed because of an Iranian blockade and the US Navy is blocking exports of Iranian crude oil. The blockade has choked off 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies, pushing up global energy prices and increasing concerns that there will be an economic downturn.
A ceasefire has been in place since April 8 but reports that US President Donald Trump was to be briefed on plans for new military strikes to compel Iran to negotiate pushed global oil prices up to a four-year high at one point on Thursday.
Iran has activated air defences and plans a wide response if attacked, having assessed that there will be a short, intensive US strike, possibly followed by an Israeli attack, two senior Iranian sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
