President Donald Trump has rejected the latest proposal from Iran to end the conflict between the two countries, declaring on Friday that he was still not satisfied, while blaming the “divided” leadership of Iran. Trump rejected this latest proposal almost immediately after it was transmitted to him. The official Iranian news agency IRNA reported that Iran had submitted its plan to the mediators in Pakistan on Thursday evening. “They want to make a deal, but I am not satisfied, so we will see what happens,” Trump told reporters on Friday at the White House, without specifying why he felt the plan had shortcomings.
The fragile three-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran appears to be holding, although both countries have accused each other of violations. While the ceasefire has largely stopped the fighting in Iran, the United States and Iran are deadlocked over the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas is traded during peacetime. The blockade set up by the US Navy, preventing Iranian tankers from heading to sea, is hurting the Iranian economy. The global economy is also under pressure, with Iran maintaining its grip on the strait.
Negotiations continued by phone after Trump canceled his envoys’ trip to Pakistan last week, the president emphasized. Donald Trump proposed a new plan this week to reopen this crucial passage used by US Gulf allies to export their oil and gas. Trump expressed his frustration on Friday with Iranian leaders, calling them divided. “It’s a very divided leadership,” said Trump. “They all want to make a deal, but they are all in turmoil.”
Referring to a briefing he had on Thursday with Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, the president suggested that the United States only had two options in Iran. “I mean, do we want to go and reduce them to ashes to finish them off once and for all? Or do we want to try to make a deal? I mean, those are the options,” Trump specified. Trump mentioned that he believed Iranian leaders had made some progress in uniting around a solution. “They have made progress, but I’m not sure they will ever get there,” he said. “There is a huge discord, they have a lot of trouble agreeing among themselves in Iran.”
Iran seeks support for its plan Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made multiple phone calls on Friday to several regional counterparts, including Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Azerbaijan, to inform them of his country’s latest initiatives to end the war, according to his social media networks. The EU’s Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas also spoke by phone on Friday with Mr. Araghchi. They discussed ongoing diplomatic efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and long-term security arrangements, Kallas’s office said in a statement. Kallas also engaged with EU partners in the Gulf.
Pakistani officials said efforts were ongoing to ease tensions between Iran and the United States. Former Pakistani Ambassador to Washington, Masood Khan, emphasized that the continued exchange of proposals indicated that the US and Iran remained committed to finding a diplomatic compromise. These proposals come after the leaders of both countries exchanged some of their most virulent threats, fueling fears of military hostilities resuming at any time.
Bomb explosions in Iran An explosion of unexploded bombs dating back to strikes during the war against Iran killed 14 members of the Revolutionary Guards, Iranian media reported on Friday. An article on the Nournews website, considered close to Iranian security services, said the explosion occurred near the city of Zanjan, northwest of Tehran. This is the largest number of Revolutionary Guards reported killed since the ceasefire began on April 7. The report noted that the ammunition included fragmentation bombs and aerial mines dropped during combat. Since the start of the war on February 28, at least 3375 people have been killed in Iran and over 2600 in Lebanon, where new clashes between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah erupted 2 days after the war began, according to authorities. Additionally, 24 people have died in Israel and over 20 in the Arab states of the Gulf. Seventeen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and thirteen US soldiers across the region have been killed.
