Trump Says Ceasefire Is On ‘Life Support’ As Iran Standoff Deepens And Strait Remains Closed

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the ceasefire in Iran is on “life support.” Tehran’s latest offer to end the war. Officials said the offer included some concessions on Iran’s controversial nuclear program, but Trump called it “garbage.”

Stalled diplomacy and recent fever changes Could shake the Middle East return to open warfare and prolonging the worldwide energy crisis caused by the conflict by strangling Iran Strait of Hormuz and America’s blockade of Iranian ports still continues.

When asked at an unrelated White House event whether the ceasefire was still in effect, Trump said the ceasefire was “incredibly weak” and was on “life support.”

“After reading that crap they sent us, I’d say it’s the weakest right now,” Trump added. “I didn’t even finish reading it.”

Trump said he would suspend the federal tax on gasoline to help Americans shoulder high fuel prices caused by the war.

Trump is expected to use traveling to china this week Urging President Xi Jinping to put pressure on Iran. Beijing is the largest buyer of Iran’s sanctioned crude oil, which gives it an advantage.

However, the USA and Iran are far from each other on many issues. While Trump has demanded a major rollback of Iran’s nuclear activities, Iran has also been pushing for a more limited deal. Reopen the throat and lifting the blockade before further negotiations.

Iran has offered to dilute some of its own oil, two regional officials told The Associated Press. highly enriched uranium and transfer the rest to a third country. Russia had previously offered to buy it. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.

Trump has demanded the complete removal of nuclear material and is unlikely to accept his other proposals for formalizing Iran’s control over the strait and US reparations.

Trump said on Sunday that his response to Iran’s latest offer was “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.” Ending the blockade before discussing Iran’s nuclear program would remove an important trump card for Trump.

Meanwhile, the tension in the Bosphorus, which is an important transit point for world oil and natural gas exports, caused fuel prices to rise rapidly and shook world markets.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who launched the war with Trump on Feb. 28, emphasized that the conflict is “not over” in an interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, saying a critical goal is the removal of nuclear material from Iran. Netanyahu said that if this cannot be achieved through negotiations, Israel and the United States have agreed that “we can re-engage them militarily.”

Netanyahu also said that the current Iranian government’s “days are numbered, but it may take many more days.”

The United States and Israel killed dozens of senior Iranian officials, including the country’s supreme leader, in the opening salvo of the war, and the conflict has badly damaged Iran’s economy, but the theocracy remains in power.

Iran’s proposal demanded that the United States recognize its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and formalize its control over the international waterway. Iran has effectively closed the strait since the start of the war, allowing only a small number of ships to pass and charging tolls.

However, experts say that such a regulation will likely violate international law This ensures freedom of navigation. This proposal is likely to be widely rejected by the international community. The Bosphorus was open to international traffic before the war.

Iran is also demanding war compensation from the United States, the lifting of international sanctions, the unfreezing of Iranian assets held abroad and an end to the war between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah, according to Iranian state television.

There is Israel and Hezbollah continued to take blowsThey have been mostly in southern Lebanon since a nominal ceasefire was reached last month.

“We did not demand any concessions; all we demanded were Iran’s legitimate rights,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday. “The American side still insists on its one-sided views and unreasonable demands.”

Iran still insists on its right to enrich uranium and that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful. The United States, Israel and others have long accused it of pursuing nuclear weapons and have called for much of its program to be dismantled.

Pakistan is continuing its efforts to broker a compromise, two regional diplomats familiar with the ongoing talks said.

One of the diplomats said Pakistan was trying to arrange a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war and paving the way for broader dialogue on issues on which the two sides are divided.

The diplomat said Pakistan had hoped to help finalize the agreement last week, but that effort did not materialize and mediators were still working on various proposals.

The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss behind-the-scenes diplomacy, added that Islamabad has received support from other regional countries in its peace efforts.

Meanwhile, Iran executed another person whom it accused of spying for both the CIA and Israel’s Mossad intelligence service. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said Erfan Shakurzadeh was working on satellite communications and passing classified information to these intelligence services.

Iran has carried out a series of executions since then. Nationwide protests swept the country in January. Activist groups have long accused Iran of holding trials behind closed doors where defendants were unable to fully defend themselves. Iran’s judiciary chief has repeatedly said Tehran will step up the pace of executions to fight against enemies at home and abroad.

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press reporter Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed.