President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States (US) and Iran are “getting a lot closer” to finalising an agreement in a bid to end the conflict in the Middle East that started on February 28.
The two-time Republican president, however, warned that the US will have no other option apart from resuming its strike on Iran if the two nations fail to finalise the peace treaty.
“Every day it gets better and better,” Trump told CBS in an interview. “I will only sign a deal where we get everything we want.”
“We’re going to have a situation where no country will ever be hit as hard as they’re about to be hit,” Trump added.
The US and Iran had held talks in Pakistan last month but negotiations failed to end the conflict because of differences over Tehran’s nuclear programme. Trump has repeatedly stated that Iran will never be allowed to attain nuclear weapons and it needs to handover its enriched uranium.ย
However, Iran has remained firm over its nuclear programme and said it is only for civilian use.
There has been difference over the Strait of Hormuz as well. Iran aims to toll the critical waterway through which nearly a fifth of global crude transits, but the Americans say that it should remain open for everyone.
A 60-day ceasefire?
Interestingly, Trump’s remarks also came hours after a report by the Financial Times claimed that the US and Iran are close to extending the ceasefire by 60 days and establish a framework for talks on the nuclear programme.ย
The report also stated that the agreement would lead to a gradual opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and easing sanctions on Iran. In addition, it could also lead to unfreezing of Iranian overseas assets in a phased manner.
“The deal seems to be going in the right direction. Itโs with the Americans now for review,” the Financial Times quoted a diplomat as saying.
On its part, Iran has said it is finalising the 14-point “framework agreement”, but has hinted that there are gaps in it. Meanwhile, Pakistan, which organised the first round of US-Iran talks in April, has scrambled its top leaders for a peace deal.
Pakistan’s Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi have been in Iran, meeting the Iranian leadership, hoping for a breakthrough in the talks.
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