Donald Trump rejected the conditions set by Iran on Thursday to restart peace negotiations. “As of now, I am not satisfied with what they are offering,” said the American president in Washington before heading to Florida for the weekend.
The new Iranian proposal, conveyed to Pakistani mediators, represented “a step towards the United States, offering to discuss the conditions set by Tehran for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, alongside American guarantees to stop their attacks and lift the blockade of Iranian ports,” reports The Wall Street Journal.
“Previously, Iran demanded that the United States lift their blockade as a prerequisite for any negotiation, and agree on the terms of the end of the war before addressing the future management of the strait as well as its nuclear program,” the American publication pointed out.
This new proposal then foresaw “examining issues related to the Iranian nuclear file in exchange for a relaxation of American sanctions,” according to sources close to the matter cited by the financial newspaper.
“Putting an end to it once and for all” with Iran
“The Iranian response indicates that diplomacy is not completely frozen,” according to Axios. This comes as “Trump keeps the American naval blockade and considers new military actions against Iran.”
When asked about the next steps, the American president once again preferred nuanced threats. “There are several options,” he told journalists. “Do we want to go there, bomb them relentlessly and end them once and for all, or do we want to try to make a deal? Those are the options.”
However, Axios reported that he clarified that he would prefer “not to resume the bombings.”
On Friday, Donald Trump declared the “end of hostilities” in the war against Iran in a letter to Congress, sixty days after officially informing lawmakers of the start of the offensive on March 2 – the bombings began on February 28.
“The American law requires the administration to obtain Congress’ approval within this [sixty-day] timeframe to continue the war, under penalty of ending it,” notes El País.
“Through this message, Trump believes he has fulfilled his legal obligation and defends the thesis, already put forward by his administration, that the war ended with the ceasefire agreement of April 8, which the president had initially declared applicable for a few weeks, then indefinitely,” explains the Madrid-based newspaper.
However, the missive seems purely circumstantial, with no one doubting at the Capitol that if Donald Trump wants to resume the bombings, he will not ask permission from anyone, let alone Congress. On Friday, he even stated – after sending his letter to the heads of both chambers – that this obligation of congressional authorization was “unconstitutional.”
Germany penalized
Al-Jazeera spoke to General Mark Kimmitt, former US Deputy Secretary of State, who has no doubt that if Iran “is not willing to make a deal, the United States will resort to the use of military force.”
But for the former diplomat, after the rejection of the last Iranian proposal, “it would be wise to wait for a few other proposals to be put on the table before drawing any conclusions.” He believes that Donald Trump “will give the Iranians some time.”
However, the White House tenant is showing no patience towards Germany and its Chancellor Friedrich Merz: the Pentagon announced on Friday the withdrawal of 5,000 American troops from Germany, out of the 36,000 present in the country, within a year.
“This announcement comes after the president’s threats to reduce the number of American troops in Germany, and his criticism of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said the United States had been ‘humiliated’ by Iran,” observed Deutsche Welle.
Lawmakers, including Senator Jeanne Shaheen, have protested against the decision, which once again targets an allied NATO member country and undermines the interests of Americans and Europeans for “petty grudges.”
Another decision seeming to point towards a straightforward punishment for Berlin for Mr. Merz’s remarks: Donald Trump also announced on Friday “an increase in tariffs on cars and trucks from the European Union, a measure that will hit Germany the hardest,” noted the German broadcaster.
