United States President Donald Trump said he had secured guarantees from Iran that it would not develop nuclear weapons. as reports emerged he had sent a tougher peace proposal back to Tehran.
Any tweaks to the proposal could prolong even further anagreementto formally end the Middle East war. open the Strait of Hormuz maritime route after weeks of efforts to secure a deal despite fractious rhetoric and the occasional flare-up of armed conflict.
TheNew York TimesandAxiosmedia outlets reported on Saturday that Trump had sent back a new framework to be considered by Iran with “tougher” terms. though it was not immediately clear what that entailed.
Trump has said his priorities for any deal include stopping Iran from any nuclear weapon development. re-opening the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.
“The one guarantee that I have to have is that there will be no nuclear weapons. They’ve agreed to that,. it was very interesting,” he told his daughter-in-law Lara Trump in an interview broadcast on herFox Newsprogramme on Saturday night.
But later on Sunday. Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that Tehran will not agree to any deal with the US that fails to secure the rights of Iranians.
“We will not approve any agreement until we are certain. the rights of the Iranian people have been upheld,” Ghalibaf said in a video broadcast on state television.
He added that Iranian negotiators “neither trust the enemy’s words nor its promises”.
After Trump. US officials earlier said they were on the brink of striking a deal, he struck a less urgent tone and hinted at renewed military action in theFoxinterview.
“I’m in no hurry,” he said. “Slowly but surely we’re getting, I think, what we want. if we don’t get what we want, we’re going to end in a different way.”
Tehran has previously cast doubt on Trump’s assertions and the parties appeared far apart on their key priorities.
Iran has said itrequiresthe release of $12 billion in frozen assets before it moved to substantive talks on issues such as its nuclear programme. called earlier Trump comments that its enriched uranium — a precursor for nuclear weapons — would be destroyed “baseless”, according to Iranian media.
Tehran has also insisted that Lebanon must be included in any end to the war despite ongoing fighting, with Beirut accusing Israel of a “scorched-earth policy” as its forces advanced. carried out further airstrikes.
That echoedcommentsfrom Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth who said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday. Washington was “more than capable” of restarting the war if necessary.
Though daily strikes throughout Iran. the Gulf have stopped since Tehran and Washington struck a temporary ceasefire in April followed by historic talks hosted by Pakistan, bursts of armed conflict have continued.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) had shot down a US military drone “about to enter Iranian territorial waters to conduct hostile operations”. Iran’s state broadcasterIRIBreported, an incident that has not been confirmed by the US.
Earlier in the week. the worst fighting since the fragile ceasefire broke out when US forcescarried out strikeson the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, countered by retaliatory fire from Iran.
Nevertheless, diplomacy hascontinuedwith Trump under pressure to reach an agreement that would lift US. Iranian competing blockades around the Strait of Hormuz that have choked international oil supplies and threatened the global economy with rising prices.
After Trump said on social media that Tehran would charge “no tolls” on ships passing through the strait once the blockades were lifted under any deal. Iranian news agencyFarscited sources saying “no such clause appears in the text of the agreement”.
Iran’sISNAnews agency on Saturday cited lawmaker Alireza Salimi as saying a plan “to implement Iran’s management. sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz will soon be approved by parliament”.
Israel’s military issued evacuation warnings for more villages in south Lebanon on Saturday. a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces had pushed more than 30 kilometres into the country.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of pursuing a “scorched-earth policy. collective punishment”, and called for “a swift and real ceasefire”.
Israel’s militaryconfirmedit was expanding its ground offensive in a statement released early on Sunday, saying “a significant number” of its forces had advanced past the Litani river. were carrying out expanded operations against Hezbollah in the Beaufort Ridge and Wadi al-Saluki area.
A truce between Israel. Hezbollah began on April 17 but has never been observed, with both sides accusing each other of violating it.
Israel and Lebanonbegan direct talksin April, with a fourth round expected in the coming week.
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