Trump keen on agreement with Iran
Washington/Tehran: There’s no doubt that President Trump would very much like to be able to announce the deal on his eightieth birthday - and frame it as a victory.
The Iranian leadership may not want to give him that satisfaction.
But it certainly does look as if the two sides have all but agreed to a deal.
The details are not yet known - and both the US and Iran have each been presenting the aspects that make them seem to have the upper hand.
A senior Iranian official has said that this initial deal would see the Strait of Hormuz re-opened immediately, as Trump has stipulated.
The same official has also said there’s an agreement for Tehran to dilute its highly enriched uranium inside Iran.
These would be significant moves forward, raising hopes of success in the difficult negotiations to come.
But the issue of Israel’s war against Hezbollah in Lebanon could still prove to be a deal breaker further down the line.
He might not say it explicitly, but President Trump is clearly furious with Benjamin Netanyahu.
His social media post says that the attack on Beirut, which he implies was a disproportionate response to a “very small and meaningless” attack by Hezbollah, risked disrupting the peace process “on a special day”.
It isn’t specified what makes the day “special”, but it has not gone unnoticed that there was a chance of a peace deal being signed on Donald Trump’s 80th birthday.
That prospect now looks far less likely.
What will make this doubly galling for the President is that he has repeatedly pointed out the extent to which he is in the driving seat of his relationship with Israel’s Prime Minister.
“Let’s not blow it!” Trump writes on social media, saying the attack on Beirut should not have happened, “particularly on a special day when we are so close to a peace deal with Iran.”
Meanwhile, Iranian chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday there was “no point” in continuing peace talks with the United States after its ally Israel attacked Beirut’s southern suburbs.
“The Zionists’ aggression against Dahieh once again showed that the United States either lacks the will to implement its commitments or lacks the ability to do so,” Mr. Ghalibaf said in a post on X.
“If you do not have the will or the ability to fulfil your commitments, then there is no point in talking about continuing down this path,” he added, against the backdrop of ongoing efforts to finalise a peace deal between the warring parties.
US and Iranian officials have issued conflicting messages on both the timing and details of the potential agreement. Iranian hardliners have in particular pushed back on some of the proposals in the text. (Agencies)
Also Read: US And Iran Reach An Agreement To Reopen The Strait Of Hormuz