U.S., Iran: President Donald Trump has in recent days continued to issue contradictory and confusing statements on the status of peace talks with Iran. He told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that Iran had agreed to “most of the points” in the 15-point peace plan that the United States had presented to Tehran through intermediaries. He also said that Iran had given him, and the United States, “a present” of “10 massive boatloads of oil” and an additional “20 boatloads of oil” that would be shipped on Monday. It was unclear what boats he was referring to, but Pakistan has secured a deal with Iran to allow 20 of its flagged vessels to transit the strait. |
Then on Monday, Trump issued new threats toward Iran on social media and suggested that the United States is negotiating to end the war with a regime in Tehran that is already changed: “The United States of America is in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran,” Trump wrote. “Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet ‘touched.’” |
Iran on Monday clarified that it had not agreed to any U.S. proposals. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei called the U.S. peace plan “unrealistic, illogical and excessive.” |