'Iran wants to make a deal, I don’t': Trump says US not ready to accept Iran’s proposal to stop war

Donald Trump on Sunday has said that Iran is ready to negotiate a ceasefire to end the ongoing war in West Asia, but US is not prepared to agree to a deal yet.

Also read: US offers $10 million bounty for information on Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, senior officials

 

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In an interview with NBC News, Trump said Tehran had indicated it was willing to come to the negotiating table, but the conditions offered so far were not acceptable to the US.

“Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,”  Trump said, adding that any future agreement would need to be “very solid.”

When asked what conditions Washington wants in return for ending the conflict, Trump declined to provide details but suggested that Iran abandoning its nuclear ambitions would likely be a key requirement.

The conflict began earlier this month after US and Israeli forces launched joint strikes on Iran. Tehran retaliated by targeting Israel and several US-linked sites across the region.

At least 13 US service personnel have died since the fighting began, including six crew members who were killed when a US military refuelling aircraft crashed in Iraq on Friday.

Plan to secure Strait of Hormuz

Trump said the United States is coordinating with several countries to keep the Strait of Hormuz open as tensions threaten global oil shipments through the crucial waterway.

The narrow passage is one of the world’s most important routes for oil tankers, and Iran has warned it could block the strait during the conflict. Trump said multiple countries had already agreed to support efforts to secure the route. “They’ve not only committed, but they think it’s a great idea,” he said.

Questions over Iran’s new Supreme Leader

Trump also questioned the condition of Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since assuming power earlier this week.

“I don’t know if he’s even alive. So far, nobody’s been able to show him,” Trump said. “I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender,” he added, though he described the report of his death as “a rumor.”

Mojtaba Khamenei took over as Iran’s supreme leader after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the early phase of the US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

Rise in oil prices

The war has pushed up global oil prices, sparking concerns about rising fuel costs. But Trump downplayed the issue, saying prices would likely fall once the conflict ends. “I think they’ll go lower than they were before, and I had them at record lows,” he said.

GasBuddy data cited by NBC News shows average US gasoline prices rising from $2.94 per gallon on March 1 to $3.66 now. Trump said the spike was temporary, adding, “There’s so much oil, gas — it’s being clogged up a little bit. It’ll be unclogged very soon.”