US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the ceasefire with Iran is “on life support,” after Washington rejected the latest proposals from Tehran, considering that they do not include concessions related to the Iranian nuclear file.
In a related context, Axios reported, citing US officials, that Trump is inclined to carry out some military action against Iran to increase pressure on it and extract concessions regarding its nuclear program, but he is unlikely to order any military action before his return from China .
During remarks at the White House and to Fox News, Trump described the Iranian response to the American proposal as “unacceptable,” before later calling it a “stupid proposal” and “a piece of garbage,” saying he had not finished reading it.
The US president affirmed that his country would continue to put pressure on Iran, adding: “We will achieve a complete victory,” and considering that Tehran is betting on him being subjected to pressure or backing down from his position, but he stressed that this “will not happen.”
Trump reiterated Washington's position against Iran possessing a nuclear weapon, saying that "Iran can never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon."
A firm Iranian stance
In response, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf vowed on Monday that his country would “teach a lesson” in retaliation for any attack it faces.
Qalibaf, who led his country's delegation during talks with Washington in Islamabad last month, said, "Our armed forces are ready to respond and teach a lesson in the face of any aggression."
He added in a post on the X platform, “Bad strategy and bad decisions always lead to bad results, and the whole world has realized that,” continuing, “We are prepared for every eventuality, they will be surprised.”
The spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Shura Council, Ibrahim Rezaei, said that the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami, confirmed during a meeting of the committee that the nuclear issue “is not on the agenda for negotiations,” and that uranium enrichment is “non-negotiable.”
Iran’s Mehr News Agency quoted Rezaei as saying that Islami affirmed that “the enemy seeks to destroy the power of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the nuclear industry as one of the country’s strengths,” stressing that Iran’s nuclear activities are “peaceful and will remain so.”
Rezaei added that the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran also confirmed that the necessary measures have been taken to protect nuclear facilities and assets, and that the Iranian nuclear industry “will continue to work strongly,” while preserving nuclear achievements.
“The Freedom Project”
In a related context, Trump said he is considering resuming “Project Freedom” but “on a broader scale that is not limited to escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz,” noting at the same time that he has not yet made a final decision on resuming the project.
He added that “hardline leaders” in Iran “will eventually have to reach an agreement,” as he put it. He also noted that the Iranians had asked the United States to retrieve what he described as “nuclear dust” from destroyed facilities, because they did not have the necessary technology to do so.
Trump said that Washington “currently does not know how to get into Iran to proceed with removing the nuclear dust,” adding that this issue “will be left to further negotiations.”
The US president also expressed “disappointment” with the Kurds, saying that the United States had supplied them with weapons “to deliver inside Iran, but they kept them,” he said.
Tags:
america
