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Trump claims Iran ‘gave’ US most of its demands, amid uncertainty over talks: ‘Why wouldn’t they?'
While rejecting the US' 15-point proposal delivered by intermediaries in Pakistan earlier, Iran had countered with five conditions of its own.
United States President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran “gave” America most of the demands it had made in its 15-point proposal to end the war, while denying to elaborate further on the concessions made.
This comes amid uncertainty over negotiations between Washington and Tehran, with the former repeating that the talks were “going well”, and the latter publicly denying any such negotiations.
Meanwhile, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei on Monday said that the mediating countries had indicated US' willingness to negotiate. However, Baghaei termed the US proposals to be “unrealistic, illogical and excessive." “Our position is clear. We are under military aggression. Therefore, all our efforts and strength are focused on defending ourselves,” Reuters cited Baghaei as saying at a press conference.
“They gave us most of the points. Why wouldn’t they?” Bloomberg cited Trump as saying to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday. The US President further added that the American side was “going to be asking for a couple of other things”, while declining to specify what Iran had offered.
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While rejecting the US' 15-point proposal delivered by intermediaries in Pakistan earlier, Iran had countered with five conditions of its own, which included Tehran maintaining sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump says ‘regime change’ achieved, claims Iran deal may be reached ‘soon’
Trump also claimed that “regime change” had been achieved in Iran, highlighting the deaths of senior Iranian leaders.
“We've had regime change…We're dealing with different people than anybody's dealt with before. It's a whole different group of people. So I would consider that regime change,” AFP cited the US President as saying aboard Air Force One.
When asked about the timeframe regarding a deal with Iran, Trump said, “I do see a deal in Iran. Could be soon.”
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Trump's remarks, which included ruling out deployment of ground troops. come even as Israel has continued to strike military targets across Tehran. In response, Iran has also launched strikes on Israel, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia following strikes on its electrical facilities over the weekend. These also led to power cuts in Tehran and other surrounding areas, AFP reported.
Trump had, in an interview with Financial Times published Sunday, said he wants to “take the oil in Iran”, while suggesting that the US could be looking to seize the export hub of Kharg Island.
