US President Donald Trump has called Iran’s latest response to his proposal to end the 10-week conflict with the US “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE”, amid a still fragile ceasefire between the two sides.
“I just read the response from the so-called ‘representatives’ of Iran,” Trump wrote on social media. “I didn’t like it.” After the statement, the United States dollar extended its gains against the main currencies.
According to the Wall Street JournalIran was willing to send part of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to a third country, but rejected dismantling its nuclear facilities. Tehran, however, disputed the report, according to the semi-official Iranian agency Tasnim.
With new incidents threatening the ceasefire, it remains unclear whether the latest exchange of peace proposals can pave the way for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the newspaper, the Iranian plan envisages diluting part of the highly enriched uranium and sending the rest to another country, with the requirement that the material be returned if negotiations fail — and without giving up nuclear facilities.
Tasnim stated that the WSJ made a mistake in reporting terms related to nuclear material, without providing details. The note focused on the Iranian position: immediate end to the war, removal of American sanctions on oil, end of the US blockade of the Gulf of Oman and, later, Iranian control over the strait.
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Trump had proposed that Iran release passage through the Strait of Hormuz and that Washington end the blockade of Iranian ports within a month, leaving the discussion on the nuclear program for a later stage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said again that the war “is not over”. In an interview with the program 60 Minuteson CBS, aired this Sunday, he said there is still work ahead to dismantle Iran’s nuclear capabilities and get rid of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
Even with the ceasefire in force since April 8, a drone attack this Sunday even set fire to a cargo ship near Qatar, in the Persian Gulf, in the most recent episode against vessels in the region. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait said they intercepted hostile drones on the same day.
Earlier, Trump accused Iran of “playing games” with the United States and other countries. “For 47 years the Iranians have been ‘trapping’ us, keeping us waiting, killing our people with their roadside bombs, crushing protests and recently exterminating 42,000 innocent and unarmed protesters, and laughing at our now GREAT AGAIN country,” he wrote. “They won’t laugh anymore!”
The conflict has already left thousands dead in the Middle East and shaken oil and gas markets, with soaring fuel prices putting pressure on governments and consumers around the world — including in the USA, on the eve of November’s legislative elections.
Saudi Aramco, the largest oil company on the planet, warned this Sunday that the market would take several months to return to normal even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens immediately.
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