Donald Trump plays down prospect of immediate breakthrough
Humeyra Pamuk And Asif Shahzad
Washington/Islamabad: US President Donald Trump said he told his representatives not to rush to reach any deal with Iran as his administration downplayed hopes for an imminent breakthrough in the three-month-old war, which was raised a day earlier.
The US blockade of Iranian shipping in the Strait of Hormuz “will remain in full effect until an agreement is reached, ratified and signed,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday (US time). “Both parties need to take their time and do it right,” he added.
There was no immediate response from the Iranian government. But Iran’s Revolutionary Guard-affiliated Tasnim news agency said the United States was still blocking parts of a possible deal, including Tehran’s demand for the release of frozen funds.
A day earlier, Trump said Washington and Iran were “substantially negotiating” a memorandum of understanding for a peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which before the conflict carried one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Trump, whose approval ratings have taken a hit due to the war’s impact on US energy prices, has repeatedly raised the possibility of a deal that would end the conflict between the US and Israel, which started on February 28. A tenuous ceasefire has been in effect since early April.
The two sides are at odds over many thorny issues, including Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Israel’s war in Lebanon with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, and Tehran’s demands for the lifting of sanctions and the release of tens of billions of dollars of Iranian oil revenue frozen in foreign banks.
A senior Trump administration official told reporters that a deal will not be signed on Sunday, saying the Iranian system is not moving fast enough.
But he outlined what he said were the final contours of what was being negotiated.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Iran had agreed “in principle” to open the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the United States lifting its naval blockade and Tehran disposing of its highly enriched uranium.
He said the United States understands that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has approved the broad template of the agreement.
There was no immediate confirmation from Iran or explanation of what a deal “in principle” meant.
Reports of the deal are drawing heavy criticism from some fellow Republicans who favor a tougher line against the government in Tehran. A number of lawmakers, former Cabinet members and conservative analysts wonder aloud whether the terms now known would turn the conflict into complete “futility.”
But Trump, who said he only made good deals and did not like to be seen as not having the upper hand in any negotiations, dismissed objections to the deal, which he said was “not yet fully negotiated.”
“So don’t listen to poor people criticizing something they know nothing about,” he said on TruthSocial.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also pushed back, telling reporters Sunday that no president has been stronger against Iran than Trump.
“No one should question his commitment to the principle that they will never have nuclear weapons,” Rubio said. “And the idea that this president, given everything he’s already proven he’s willing to do, would somehow agree to a deal that would put Iran in a stronger position regarding nuclear ambitions is ridiculous. It’s not going to happen.”
The US official said Washington plans to first reopen the strait and lift the US naval blockade.
This, the official said, would “remove the economic pressure on the world economy and then you will negotiate the mechanism by which they will give up various parts of the nuclear program and yes, of course we will consider a time limit.”
He said it would take more time to negotiate the details of nuclear measures.
He rejected claims that Iran had not agreed to dispose of the enriched uranium it had stockpiled. “It’s a question of how to do it,” the official said, adding that “there are a number of practical considerations.”
Iranian sources told Reuters that, at later stages, “workable formulas” could be found to resolve the dispute over the stockpile of highly enriched uranium, including diluting the material under the supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog.
Iran has long denied US and Israeli accusations that it is pursuing nuclear weapons and says it has the right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, even though the purity achieved is far greater than that required for energy production.
An Iranian military adviser to Khamenei said Tehran had the legal right to manage the Strait of Hormuz, but it was unclear whether that meant continuing to decide which ships could pass through.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said 33 ships passed through the strait in the last 24 hours after receiving permission from Tehran; this figure was still well below the 140 ships on a typical day before the war.
Any deal that would strengthen the current fragile ceasefire would bring relief to markets but would not immediately quell the global energy crisis that has increased the costs of fuel, fertilizer and food.
Even if the war ends now, full flow through the strait will not return before the first or second quarter of 2027, the chairman of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said last week.
US-Israeli bombing of Iran killed thousands of people in Iran before it was suspended in early April.
Israel also killed thousands of people and drove hundreds of thousands from their homes in Lebanon, which it occupied in pursuit of Hezbollah. Dozens of people died in Iran’s attacks on Israel and neighboring Gulf countries.
Reuters, AP
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