Trump Says Iran Deal Talks Must Avoid Deception, Threatens Higher-Level Bombing

A potential U.S.-Iran deal has become the focus of fast-moving diplomacy and hostile messaging, with U.S.

President Donald Trump saying on Wednesday that “They want to make a deal.”

Anadolu Ajansı

Trump also posted that if Iran did not accept the proposal, “bombing would return at “a higher level” than before,” and he claimed the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz had been a success while “operation Epic Fury was now nearing a close.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Emsail Baghaei said any negotiations must be done in good faith and be devoid of deception and coercion, citing a 2011 ruling by the International Court of Justice.

The articles also say talks may take place next week in Islamabad, while Iran said it was reviewing a U.S. peace proposal conveyed through Pakistani mediation and would relay its response through Pakistan after the review process is finished.

Iranian officials framed the negotiation push as a test of sincerity, with PressTV quoting Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi warning that if the United States uses talks as a cover, Iran’s armed forces would deliver a “humiliating defeat.”

Shekarchi also warned the United States and Israel against any miscalculation, saying enemies “failed “whenever they attempted to test our power.”

PressTV

In parallel, the Arabian Business article says Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he believed Iran wanted an agreement and that a deal was possible before he heads off to China next week.

It adds that a Pakistani source and another source briefed on the mediation said an agreement was close on a one-page memorandum that would formally end the conflict and kick off discussions to unblock shipping through the strait, lift U.S. sanctions on Iran, and set curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme.

The same article says it was unclear how the memorandum differs from a 14-point plan proposed by Iran last week, and that Iran had yet to respond to the latest U.S. proposal.

The sources describe the immediate stakes as both military posture and the terms of any settlement, with Trump’s statements tying negotiations to the future of strikes and Iran’s statements tying them to whether talks are genuine.

“There have been yet more twists and turns in the war between the United States and Iran, with sources close to The White House saying a deal betweenWashington and Tehran was close”

Arabian Business

Arabian Business says Trump claimed the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz had been a success and that operation Epic Fury was nearing a close, while also stating that bombing would return at a higher level if Iran did not accept the deal.

PressTV says Trump told that the military operation aimed at breaking Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz, launched less than 48 hours earlier, was being suspended by “mutual agreement,” citing “great progress” toward a potential deal.

The same PressTV article says Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman argued that “negotiations” requires, at the very least, a genuine attempt to engage in discussions with a view to resolving the dispute, and that it needs “good faith,” meaning negotiations are not “dictation.”

With the U.S. proposal still under review and Iran saying it has not yet formally responded because some provisions are considered unacceptable, the next step described in the articles is Iran relaying its response through Pakistan once the review process is finished.