U.S. President Holds Meeting on Iran Deal Without Clear Outcome

Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump.

U.S. President Donald Trump held a meeting with top aides on Friday to make a "final determination" about a framework for extending the ceasefire with Iran, but it concluded without clarity on the next steps.

Posting on Truth Social beforehand, President Trump said Iran must agree to never have a nuclear weapon or bomb, that the Strait of Hormuz be reopened for "unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions", and that any mines in the strait be "terminated".

An adviser to Iran's supreme leader on Saturday accused President Trump of "betraying democracy" by making what he described as excessive demands.

Iran says it is not negotiating on its nuclear programme - insisting it is wholly for peaceful purposes.

On Thursday, the two countries had agreed a framework of a deal - known as a memorandum of understanding - pending the approval of President Trump and Iran's leadership, according to US officials.

The deal would reportedly extend the ceasefire for 60 days and launch talks on the future of Iran's nuclear programme.

In a social media post earlier on Friday, President Trump said he was prepared to lift the U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, allowing ships caught in the waterway to "start the process of 'heading home!'"

He also insisted that Iran allow the U.S. to remove and destroy its enriched uranium.

"No money will be exchanged, until further notice," he said. "Other items, of far less importance, have been agreed to."

Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday that the blockade on Iranian shipping remained in place. It said Iranian vessels were still being prevented from crossing the blockade line and continued to receive warnings from U.S. forces.

Reacting to President Trump's latest remarks, Mohsen Rezaei, an advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei wrote on X: "As predicted, the President of the United States is betraying diplomacy for the third time.

"By continuing the naval blockade and making excessive demands in negotiations, he has once again proven that he is not inclined toward negotiation and is pursuing other objectives."

Iran's Fars news agency earlier cited informed sources as saying that Trump's latest comments were a "mixture of truth and lies".

There was no provision to destroy nuclear materials in the memorandum of understanding, the agency reported.

Meanwhile, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told state TV it was "focused on ending the war, and there are no negotiations on the nuclear issue".

The U.S. has long demanded that Iran stop producing highly enriched uranium and dispose of its existing stockpile, which in theory could be used to create nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and denies it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

Source: BBC



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