US President Donald Trump has said he is not “satisfied” with Iran’s latest ceasefire proposal, adding that Tehran is asking for things he cannot agree to.
“They've got to come up with the right deal. At this moment, I'm not satisfied,” Trump told reporters before he departed the White House on Friday.
Asked why he is not satisfied with Iran’s proposal, Trump said: “They’re asking for things that I can’t agree to."
“They all want to make a deal, but they’re all messed up,” he added.
He said negotiations are continuing with Pakistan's involvement, praising officials in Islamabad for working with Washington, but cautioned that “the trip is a very long one.”
Trump said his preference was not to restart the bombing campaign.
“On a human basis, I’d prefer not,” he said at the White House. “But that’s the option: do we want to go in there heavy and just blast them away, or do we want to do something?”
Energy war link
“They’ve made strides, but I’m not sure if they ever get there,” Trump said, describing “tremendous discord” among Iran’s leaders.
“The leadership is very disjointed,” he said. “It’s got two to three groups, maybe four, and it’s a very disjointed leadership. And with that being said, they all want to make a deal, but they’re all messed up.”
The president also linked a potential end to the war to global energy markets, saying oil shipments currently stuck near the Strait of Hormuz could soon move.
“When the war ends, gasoline prices will go down to below what they were,” he said.
The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, triggering retaliation from Tehran against Israel and the Gulf nations hosting US assets, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
A two-week ceasefire was announced on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, followed by direct talks in Islamabad on April 11, but no agreement was reached on a lasting truce.
US President Donald Trump later extended the ceasefire without setting a new deadline, following a request from Pakistan.
