Trump: Iranian leadership exhibits unbelievable duplicity

Washington, Aug 3 (KUNA) — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that the Iranian leadership “displays unbelievable double standards,” reiterating his assertion that Tehran requests talks with Washington, then denies them, and claims control over the Strait of Hormuz while the strait is actually under the control of the U.S. Navy blockade.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, President Trump wrote that “the Iranian leadership displays unbelievable double standards,” adding, “They ask for a meeting—indeed, they beg for it—and talks begin, with further rounds scheduled for the near future. Then they announce—clearly and proudly—that they are not holding any discussions, that nothing is being discussed, and that their dealings are limited only to Oman.”

He continued, “Then they go on repeating their usual claims that they will control the Strait of Hormuz by force, while the strait is already under complete control by the U.S. Navy and the blockade we have imposed, or what some call the American steel wall.”

Trump affirmed, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we want it to. Nothing will pass unless an agreement is reached or total surrender is achieved.” He stressed that “whether Iran wants to acknowledge it or not, we are actually talking about resolving a problem that it has caused over decades,” noting that “the matter is very simple: Iran will never possess a nuclear weapon.”

The U.S. president’s remarks on the “double standards” of the Iranian leadership came a day after he announced new talks with Iran, which were set to begin on Monday, hours after he decided to suspend military strikes on Iran. Speaking to reporters aboard the presidential plane on his return to Washington, he said, “We will begin new talks with Iran on Monday. We are now talking with the Iranians about the format of the negotiations,” emphasizing that the United States and Middle Eastern countries prefer to sign a deal with Iran rather than escalate militarily.

He added, “We will see whether Iran is ready to sign a deal,” referring to the U.S. attack that he canceled at the last minute, which was intended to be “the largest since World War II.” He noted that there was a broad agreement on the Strait of Hormuz and that there would also be an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.

President Trump had announced on Saturday that he had agreed to suspend a planned attack on Iran to allow for the possibility of reaching a “quick” deal that would ensure the immediate opening of the Strait of Hormuz and end Iran’s nuclear threat. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said, “We received a request from Iran and other countries in the Middle East to postpone any attack on Iran in order to reach an agreement on the broad outlines of a potential deal,” stressing that the United States remains “on standby” to attack Iran “with great force and immense military capabilities.” (End) R.S.R. / T.A.B.