U.S. President Donald Trump walks after exiting Marine One on the South Lawn while returning to the White House in Washington. (REUTERS)
While portraying an optimistic overview of diplomatic progress with Iran, Trump made a threatening remark saying that the ceasefire with Iran may end if no long-term deal is reached by Wednesday, the deadline for the two-week pause to Middle East fighting, Reuters reported.
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Trump also said the US blockade of Iranian ports will ‘remain’ if no deal is reached.
Amid all this, Strait of Hormuz remains a flashpoint between US and Iran even though Iran reopened the key energy passage, much to the relief of countries worldwide threatened with fuel shortage.
Trump’s statements in the backdrop of these developments are swaying between optimism of ending the war and US’ stern action against Iran if the conditions are not met.
Here are Trump’s top 10 remarks on deal with Iran after Hormuz opening:
‘No sticking point, very close to deal’: Amid reports of fresh talks with Iran, Trump was quoted by AFP saying that Iran and the US are ‘very close to deal’ and that there are ‘no sticking points’.
‘US blockade of Iranian ports will remain if no deal reached’: Trump said late Friday he planned to maintain a US blockade of Iranian ports if a peace deal with Tehran is not reached, adding that he may not extend the ceasefire after its expiration. “Maybe I won’t extend it, but the blockade is going to remain,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, when asked if the ceasefire will be extended. Asked about a potential deal, Trump said, “I think it’s going to happen.”
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‘Some pretty good news on Iran’: Trump said on Friday there had been some “pretty good news” regarding Iran but didn’t elaborate.
“We had some pretty good news 20 minutes ago, but it seems to be going very well in the Middle East with Iran,” Trump said. “You’ll hear about. I just think it’s something that should happen. It’s something that only makes sense to happen. And I think it will. We’ll see what happens, but I think it will.”
‘Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again’: In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump said that Iran has agreed to ‘never close the Strait of Hormuz again’. “It will no longer be used as a weapon against the World! It will no longer be used as a weapon against the World,” he wrote.
‘Until our transaction with Iran is 100% complete’: Announcing that the naval blockade of Iran in Hormuz will continue, Trump said the situation will persist till US’ ‘transaction with Iran is 100% complete’. “The Strait of Hormuz is completely open and ready for business and full passage, but the naval blockade will remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran only, until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete. This process should go very quickly, in that most of the points are already negotiated. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President Donald J. Trump,” he wrote in another post on his Truth Social.
‘Iranians want to meet’: Trump on Thursday suggested that talks with Iran could happen ‘soon’. “The Iranians want to meet,” he said in a brief telephone interview with the news outlet Axios. “They want to make a deal. I think a meeting will probably take place over the weekend.”
‘Will bring Iran uranium back home to the USA’: Trump said Friday that the US and Iran would jointly remove uranium from Tehran’s nuclear sites with excavators under any peace deal, before the material is transferred to US territory. “Somebody said, how are we going to get the nuclear dust? We’re going to get it by going in with Iran, with lots of excavators,” Trump told a gathering of the conservative Turning Point USA movement in Phoenix, Arizona. “We need the biggest excavators you can imagine,” he added. “But we’re going to go in together with Iran. We’re going to get it. We’re going to take it back home to the USA very soon.”
‘Iran has agreed to everything’: Trump also claimed that that Iran has “agreed to everything” in ongoing talks with the United States pertainign to nuclear programme. According to CNN, he added, “We’ll go down and get it with them, and then we’ll take it. We’ll be getting it together because by that time, we’ll have an agreement, and there’s no need for fighting when there’s an agreement. Nice right? That’s better.”
‘A lot of good things are happening’: Trump hinted that the deal with Iran will include Lebanon as well as the current truce between Iran and the US was threatened by Israel’s deadly strikes on Lebanon last week. “A lot of good things are happening, and that includes Lebanon too,” he said. The attacks had loomed over last talks in Islamabad as well.
‘Paper tiger NATO’: Trump lashes out at NATO dubbing it as ‘paper tiger’. “Now that the Hormuz Strait situation is over, I received a call from NATO asking if we would need some help. I TOLD THEM TO STAY AWAY, UNLESS THEY JUST WANT TO LOAD UP THEIR SHIPS WITH OIL. They were useless when needed, a paper tiger!” he said on a Truth Social post.
