U.S. President Says There is No Rush for Iran Deal

Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he had told his representatives not to rush into any deal with Iran, appearing to dampen hopes of an imminent breakthrough in the three-month-old war that had been raised by both sides a day earlier.

The U.S. blockade on Iranian ships on the Strait of Hormuz would "remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed", ‌Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Negotiations were progressing and the U.S. relationship with Iran had become more professional and productive, he said. But he added: "Both sides must take their time and get it right. There can be no mistakes!"

A day earlier, President Trump said Washington and Iran had "largely negotiated" a memorandum of understanding on 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.

Various media in the U.S. and Iran had said the memorandum setting out a framework for ending months of fighting would, if concluded, initially lift a U.S. blockade on Iranian vessels and reopen the waterway, which Iran has shut with threats to attack shipping.

But Iran's Tasnim news agency said differences remained over one or two clauses. Tasnim cited a source as saying there would be no final understanding if the U.S. continued to create obstacles.

President Trump, while offering various war aims during the conflict, has repeatedly ‌said the U.S. ⁠struck Iran to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Iran "must understand ... that they cannot develop or procure a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb", he reiterated in his post on Sunday.

Iran has long denied it is pursuing such weapons and says it has a right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, although the purity it has achieved far exceeds that needed for power generation.

Washington's close ally Israel sees its arch-enemy Iran's nuclear programme as an existential threat. It is also reluctant to have its hands tied in Lebanon, where it has occupied part of the south to fight Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia that has repeatedly attacked Israel in support of Tehran's aims.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on ⁠Saturday that "the trend this week has been towards a reduction in disputes, but there are still issues that need to be discussed through mediators".

Baghaei said the issue of the U.S. blockade on Iran's shipping was important, but that its priority was ending the threat of new U.S. attacks and the parallel conflict in Lebanon.

Source: Reuters



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