President Donald Trump said an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and address Iran’s nuclear program could be imminent, even as Tehran denied direct negotiations and another cargo ship was attacked in the strategic waterway.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump said Iran is being given “every last chance” to reach an agreement with the United States before facing a significantly larger military operation, as diplomatic efforts continued amid conflicting accounts from Washington and Tehran and a fourth commercial vessel was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said Monday that negotiations were underway and initially focused on reopening the strait before moving to the denuclearization of Iran. He described a potential agreement as “imminent” and said Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar were supporting the diplomatic effort.
Iranian officials denied that direct talks were taking place. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Monday that Tehran was communicating through mediators in Oman about restoring safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, rather than negotiating directly with the United States.
Trump rejected Iran’s public account and accused its leaders of denying talks while privately seeking meetings with U.S. officials.
“Whether Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking,” Trump said Monday.
Qatar confirmed Tuesday that mediation efforts were underway but did not clarify whether the United States and Iran were communicating directly.
“We’re looking into a diplomatic solution,” Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said during a briefing.
Al-Ansari said Qatar was working with all parties to find a negotiated resolution but declined to provide details or address the contradictory statements from Washington and Tehran.
The diplomatic activity continued as another commercial vessel was attacked Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important maritime shipping routes.
The Liberia-flagged dry bulk carrier Minoan Pioneer was struck by an unidentified projectile near the coast of Oman, forcing most of the crew to abandon the ship. One crew member remained missing.
Maritime security sources said the projectile hit the vessel’s engine room. British maritime risk management company Vanguard separately reported that the impact started a fire in the ship’s accommodation area.
“The crew are fighting the fire and require assistance, while the third engineer is reported missing,” Vanguard said.
A tugboat equipped with firefighting equipment was dispatched as part of a salvage operation. Most crew members entered a lifeboat and were reported safe.
The Minoan Pioneer became the fourth vessel attacked in the Strait of Hormuz since Friday.
Iran has stopped most traffic through the strait while the United States maintains a blockade of Iranian ports and shipping. The disruption has affected a waterway that normally carries approximately one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Trump warned last month that the United States would respond directly to attacks on vessels passing through the strait. He vowed “to bomb and destroy” an Iranian bridge or power plant each time Iran fired on a ship.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said he had delayed a larger attack to provide Iran with another opportunity to negotiate.
“I want to give them every last chance before decapitation. Very tough to do,” Trump said. “…I’m very proud of the fact that I’ll give people a chance. This is a big move to do an attack that big on a country.”
Trump claimed Iranian officials contacted him after learning about the planned military operation and asked the United States not to proceed.
“Hopefully they’ll come to their senses,” Trump said. “So they called me, and they said, ‘Please don’t attack. We’ll make a deal.’ That’s the real truth. And everyone knows it.”
The president said he would favor an agreement if it allowed people who might otherwise be killed in a military operation to survive.
Trump said that if “given a chance to let a lot of people live,” he wants to “give that chance.”
“I’m under no time constraint,” Trump said.
Former Vice President Mike Pence urged Trump to take a different approach, arguing during an appearance on Fox News that the United States should strike Iran’s remaining nuclear facilities.
“One does not make peace with one’s enemy,” Pence said. “One makes peace with one’s defeated enemy.”
The competing statements from Trump and Iranian officials leave the status of the talks uncertain. Qatar and Oman remain involved in mediation, while attacks on commercial shipping and restrictions on navigation continue to raise the risk of a broader military confrontation in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
Original article
Comments