TRUMP ISSUES FRESH DEADLINE: President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. may need to strike Iran again and that he had been an hour away from ordering an attack before postponing it. Trump was speaking to reporters at the White House a day after saying he had paused a planned resumption of hostilities following a new proposal by Tehran to end the U.S.-Israeli war. “I was an hour away from making the decision to go today,” Trump said on Tuesday. Iran’s leaders are begging for a deal, he said, adding that a new U.S. attack would happen in the coming days if no agreement was reached.
Donald Trump issues fresh warning to Iran
“Well, I mean, I’m saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, maybe early next week, a limited period of time, because we can’t let them have a new nuclear weapon.”
In Tehran, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, said on X that pausing an attack was due to Trump’s realization that any move against Iran would mean “facing a decisive military response”. Iranian state media said Tehran’s latest peace proposal involves ending hostilities on all fronts including Lebanon, the exit of U.S. forces from areas close to Iran, and reparations for destruction caused by the U.S.-Israeli attacks.
Tehran also sought the lifting of sanctions, release of frozen funds and end to the U.S. marine blockade, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi as cited by IRNA news agency. The terms as described in the Iranian reports appeared little changed from Iran’s previous offer, which Trump rejected last week as “garbage”.
BOTH SIDES ‘CHANGING GOALPOSTS’, SAYS PAKISTANI SOURCE
Reuters could not determine whether military preparations had been made for strikes that would mark a renewal of the war Trump started in late February.
He is under pressure to reach an accord that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key supply route for global supplies of oil and other commodities. Trump has previously expressed hope that a deal was close on ending the conflict, and similarly threatened heavy strikes on Iran if it did not reach an accord.
Trump said on Monday that Washington would be satisfied if it could reach an agreement that prevented Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“There seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out. If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I would be very happy,” Trump told reporters.
A Pakistani source confirmed that Islamabad, which has conveyed messages between the sides since hosting the only round of peace talks last month, had shared the Iranian proposal with Washington. The sides “keep changing their goalposts,” the Pakistani source said, adding: “We don’t have much time.”
The U.S.-Israeli bombing killed thousands of people in Iran before it was suspended in a ceasefire in early April. Israel has killed thousands more and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes in Lebanon, which it invaded in pursuit of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.
Iranian strikes on Israel and neighbouring Gulf states have killed dozens of people. The Iran ceasefire has mostly held, although drones have lately been launched from Iraq towards Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, apparently by Iran and its allies. Trump spoke on Tuesday shortly after his administration imposed sanctions on an Iranian foreign currency exchange house and what it said were front companies overseeing transactions on behalf of Iranian banks.
(With Inputs From Reuters)
With 13 years on the line, Ashish Kumar Singh loves everything when it comes to movies, music, travel and pop culture. Formerly employed at ANI, Pinkvilla, India Today and HT, Ashish has interviewed some of the top celebrities of India, including Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan, among others. Breaking news excites him and deadlines are what he chases. Interviewing comes naturally to him. Hit him up at ashish.kumar02singh@gmail.com.
