Washington: President Donald Trump left a two-hour meeting in the White House Situation Room on a possible deal with Iran without announcing a decision on Friday, a senior administration official said, even after the president suggested on social media he had intended “to make a final determination” during the gathering.
White House officials said the meeting ended without a resolution, and it remained unclear why Trump refrained from making a determination. Ahead of the talks, the president used Truth Social to outline terms he said would be part of any agreement, including Iran’s reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a pledge by Tehran “never to develop a nuclear bomb” and permission for the United States to remove Iran’s enriched uranium. Iran has repeatedly rejected those demands, as reported by The New York Post.
Iran Denies Nuclear Talks
Esmail Baghaei, the spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, told Iranian state media in a telephone interview on Friday that current negotiations were “limited in scope” and did not include “the nuclear issue”. Tensions have remained high: in recent days the two sides have exchanged fire, and Trump has repeatedly warned that the United States could return to a full-scale military confrontation.
Trump also signaled in his post that, if a deal were reached, the United States would lift its naval blockade that has targeted Iranian ships and ports, allowing the crucial oil-and-gas shipping route to reopen. “Ships caught in the Strait due to our amazing and unprecedented Naval Blockade, which will now be lifted, may start the process of ‘heading home!’” he wrote.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the proposal would prolong the existing cease-fire and open the door to further negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme. If ratified, the deal could provide Mr. Trump with a diplomatic exit from a conflict that has raised global oil prices and lost popularity domestically.
