Donald Trump has sent harsher peace terms back to Iran and says he is in no hurry rush to obtain a deal. He has reportedly asked for a number of amendments so an agreement hammered out by US envoys and Iranian counterparts on Friday.
Trump met advisers on Friday but has yet to decide whether to move ahead with a deal to extend the ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery in the world’s oil supply. Iran has said the deal has not been finalised.
Now, Axios reports that in a Friday meeting in the White House situation room, Trump asked for his team to amend clauses regarding the Iranian nuclear programme, per two US officials cited as sources.
View 3 ImagesMerchant vessels stranded in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz(Image: Xinhua/Shutterstock)
Currently, a memorandum of understanding includes a commitment from Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. There are no specific concessions beyond the memorandum.
It also says there will be a period of 60 days to negotiate on US sanctions relief and Iranian nuclear commitments. One of the major issues is how to limit further uranium enrichment and get rid of Iran’s current stockpile.
It is this part of the deal Trump hopes to amend, the news outlet reported, as well as some of the words around the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
A Trump administration official said: “There will be a deal. The imminence of it, we’ll see. We’re willing to wait so the president gets what he asks for. It could be a week. It could be less. It could be more. At the turn of the week, we hope to have something.”
View 3 ImagesMan walks past an image of former and current Iranian supreme leaders, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L), Ali Khamenei and his son current leader Mojtaba Khamenei (R) in Tehran(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“Slowly but surely, we’re getting, I think, what we want,” Trump said to Lara Trump, his daughter-in-law, in Fox News interview.
“I’d like to say I’m in a hurry, because you know what, gasoline prices are going to come tumbling down, but if you’re going to be in a hurry, you’re not going to make a good deal.”
A fragile ceasefire has held since April 7. Events in the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman have shaken the global economy, with shipments of significant amounts of oil, natural gas and related supplies like fertiliser largely stranded, increasing the strain on consumers and food producers.
The US blockade seeks to limit Iran’s own shipments and further weaken its access to cash, creating more pain for its long-weakened economy.
Trump met advisers on Friday but has yet to decide whether to move ahead with a deal to extend the ceasefire and reopen the strait. Iran has said the deal has not been finalised.
Commercial traffic has quietly continued to flow through the strait, despite Iran’s assertions that it must approve any transits, though at a much lower volume than before the conflict.
Article continues below
“Any violation of these regulations will place the security of their passage at serious risk,” Iran’s joint military command said on Saturday in a statement carried by state TV, warning that any military vessels trying to interfere with that would be targeted.
Iran has even charged tolls as high as 2 million dollars (£1.5 million), which experts have called a violation of a principle of international maritime trade: freedom of peaceful navigation.
Qatar’s deputy prime minister, Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan bin Ali Al Thani, on Saturday said the Gulf nation opposes charging fees to transit, “but for certain times when they say they are going to use it for mine clearing or some usage of the fees for a temporary time, this is something that is negotiable, and it could be something that will help the transit of the Strait of Hormuz to be back to normal stage”.