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Trump sets Iran terms
Donald Trump said he would convene a high-level meeting in the White House Situation Room on Friday to make a “final determination” on a potential deal with Iran, while also stating that no financial arrangements would be made “until further notice”.
In a Truth Social post, Trump demanded that Iran agree not to develop a nuclear weapon and called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the removal of sea mines, and the lifting of what he described as a US blockade on Iran.
Trump also demanded the removal and destruction of Iran’s highly enriched uranium by the United States, and said “Other items, of far less importance, have been agreed to,” without specifying which provisions were settled in principle.
The CNBC report later said Trump ended a meeting in the White House Situation Room without announcing his final decision on whether to approve a deal to pause the three-month-old Iran war, according to an administration official.
CNBC added that Trump said the retaliatory U.S. naval blockade against Iran in the Gulf of Oman “will now be lifted,” while also stating that enriched material buried at the site of last year’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities will be “unearthed” and “DESTROYED.”
Tehran disputes deal text
CNBC reported that after Trump’s Friday morning post, Iranian state news outlet Fars pushed back, saying it “raised issues that contradict the provisions of the agreement's text.”
Fars also reported that there is “no such clause in the text of the agreement,” citing “informed sources,” after Trump demanded the Strait of Hormuz be “immediately open” to unrestricted shipping traffic with no tolls.
CNBC further said the draft deal being discussed contained no reference to Iran dismantling or destroying its nuclear materials, according to the Fars post, which also asserted that “the most important part of the agreement” is “the immediate payment of $12 billion of Iran's frozen assets.”
The France 24 report said Trump threatened Iran with 'hell' if no agreement is reached within 48 hours, while Tehran, according to local media, warned the United States and Israel that 'the entire region will turn into hell' before them if the escalation continues.
France 24 added that Trump posted on Truth Social: 'Do you remember when you gave Iran ten days to clinch a deal or open the Strait of Hormuz? Time is running out; 48 hours remain before hell comes down on them!'
Deadlines, war risks, and stakes
France 24 said Trump had given Tehran until April 6 to open the Strait of Hormuz, which it described as effectively closed since the start of the U.S.-Israeli attack on it on February 28, otherwise its energy facilities would be bombed.
“President Donald Trump ended a meeting in the White House Situation Room without announcing his final decision on whether to approve a deal to pause the three-month-old Iran war, an administration official told CNBC on Friday afternoon”
The France 24 report also said Washington and Tehran were racing to locate one of the pilots whose plane crashed inside Iranian territory on Friday, after U.S. special forces rescued his colleague.
In a telephone appearance on Extra News, Dr. Ahmed Said Ahmed said Trump’s statements about striking Iran within a few days fit “the framework of threats and political pressure to push Tehran to make concessions on its nuclear file.”
Dr. Ahmed said Iran seeks to delay discussion of the nuclear file and focus first on stopping the war and lifting the blockade on Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz, along with demands including the release of Iran’s frozen funds and the withdrawal of American forces from its regional vicinity.
The Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies expert added that the closest scenario is the continuation of the political and military stalemate, with Trump possibly resorting to “limited military strikes against some Iranian facilities” to prove his seriousness without slipping into a costly full-scale war.
