BREAKING: Trump maintains his demands before a possible agreement with Iran, Tehran does not want to know anything
International Briefing:
International observers are closely monitoring the latest developments as new information continues to emerge.
Unfortunately, it’s not close to being over. Negotiations between the United States and Iran aimed at ending the war in the Middle East remained deadlocked on Friday. While American sources had mentioned on Thursday a framework of agreement providing for a 60-day extension of the ceasefire, no announcement was made at the end of a two-hour meeting organized at the White House. According to an American official, “President Trump will only sign an agreement if it is good for America and his red lines are met.” Before this meeting, Donald Trump had detailed several conditions on his Truth Social network. “Iran must accept that they will never have a nuclear weapon. The Strait of Hormuz must be opened immediately,” he wrote, while asking Tehran to clear mines from this strategic sea route. The US president also demanded that Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium be “DESTROYED”. In the evening, the White House reaffirmed its position by recalling that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon”. Iran contests American demands Tehran immediately tempered American statements. “Exchanges are continuing but no final agreement has yet been reached,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaïl Baghaï. He also rejected the idea of ongoing discussions on the nuclear program and defended “the special situation” of the Strait of Hormuz, located in the territorial waters of Iran and Oman. According to sources cited by the Fars agency, several demands put forward by Washington would not appear in the draft agreement currently being discussed, in particular the opening of the Strait of Hormuz without toll fees and the destruction of Iranian nuclear materials. The Iranian authorities also denounce “the excessive demands as well as the changing and contradictory positions” of the United States. Another blocking point: the freezing of Iranian assets The Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abbas Araghchi, estimated that “reaching a final agreement depends on stopping the attitude of the American side”. For his part, Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian assured that his country was “ready to act to find a respectful framework to end the war”, during an exchange with the Emir of Qatar. Our file on the war in IranBeyond nuclear questions and navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the file of frozen Iranian assets remains a sticking point. Tehran wants to obtain the release of 24 billion dollars, with a first payment upon the signing of a memorandum of understanding. Donald Trump, however, ruled out this possibility for the moment, saying that there would be “no exchange of money at this time”.
Key Developments:
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Source: This article was originally published by 20Minutes – Actu Monde and adapted for our international English-speaking audience.
Read the original article here.