US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States may have to attack Iran again, asserting that Tehran is "begging" for a deal, a day after announcing that he had postponed at the last minute a new attack that was planned for Tuesday to allow room for a settlement between the two countries.
Trump also explained that his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, promised during their bilateral meeting last week that Beijing would not send weapons or military equipment to Iran.
Trump had explained in a post on his “Truth Social” platform that he had refrained from resuming hostilities at the request of the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, saying that they believe that reaching an agreement with Tehran is still possible, and stressing at the same time that there are “very good chances” of reaching an agreement.
In response, the Iranian military threatened to open “new fronts” if the United States resumed its attacks on the Islamic Republic. The Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) quoted military spokesman Mohammad Akrami Nia as saying, “If the enemy is reckless enough to fall once again into the Zionist trap and launch a new aggression against our dear country, we will open new fronts against it and use new equipment and tactics.”
Amid the escalation, Qatar called for giving diplomacy “more time” to try to reach a settlement that goes beyond the fragile ceasefire in this war, which has left thousands dead and caused major disruption to the global economy.
divergent positions
Since the ceasefire came into effect on April 8, after nearly 40 days of strikes launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, contacts have been underway to try to reach an agreement, but the positions of Washington and Tehran remain very far apart, particularly on the nuclear issue.
One round of talks was held between American and Iranian representatives on April 11 in Islamabad, and ended without an agreement being reached.
On Monday morning, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced that it had responded to a new US proposal aimed at breaking the diplomatic deadlock. It reiterated its demands, particularly regarding the release of frozen Iranian assets abroad and the lifting of international sanctions that are crippling its economy.
Trump told reporters that he had a “very good chance” of reaching an understanding with Iran, noting that he was seeing “very positive” progress in the negotiations, without providing any details about their content.
But he stressed that the United States is prepared to launch a “comprehensive and large-scale attack on Iran at any moment, if an acceptable agreement is not reached.”
Oil prices declined
The US president warned that the desired agreement must ensure that Iran does not possess a nuclear weapon.
Iranian media outlets condemned the "excessive conditions" included in the latest US offer. According to the Fars News Agency, Washington is demanding that Iran retain only one operational nuclear site and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States.
Tehran continues to control the strategic Strait of Hormuz for global oil trade, while the US military continues its blockade of Iranian ports.
The near-total paralysis of the strait has shaken the global economy and sent oil prices soaring.
But prices, which remain at a high level, were calmer, as markets preferred to focus on Trump's optimistic statements.
Around 09:40 GMT, the price of Brent North Sea crude for July delivery fell by 1.55% to $110.36.
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