Trump warns: It is the "last chance"
Washington – Agencies: US President Donald Trump confirmed that negotiations with Iran are taking place “now,” despite Tehran’s earlier denial, describing them as the last chance for Iranian officials to reach an agreement. Trump told reporters at the White House, “The talks are going on right now, and this is a last chance for them to sign a good document.” The US president stressed that these negotiations are taking place “at the request” of Tehran, with the support of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. According to Trump, these talks focus particularly on the potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz “starting tomorrow,” he said.
Iran denied holding any talks with the United States hours after Trump announced that negotiations would resume on Monday, a move that angered the US president, who renewed his ultimatum to the Islamic Republic to either conclude an agreement or surrender. The Middle East conflict appears to have no prospect of resolution more than six months after the US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28, and following a ceasefire and a memorandum of understanding paving the way for a permanent deal, Tehran and Washington resumed hostilities in July, amid warnings of escalation and retaliatory responses.
Trump announced on Saturday that he had decided against carrying out wide-scale strikes on Iran at its request and that of Gulf states, to make way for diplomacy, conditioning this on reaching a quick agreement that includes the “immediate, total, and complete opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.” Trump went further on Sunday, telling reporters, “What we are doing right now is talking to them as part of negotiations,” stating they would “start (on Monday)” without providing further details.
Iran’s denial came swiftly during the weekly press conference of the Foreign Ministry, where spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, “We are not currently conducting negotiations with the United States. Our negotiations are with Oman to secure a passage through the Strait of Hormuz.” It appeared that Trump did not accept Iran contradicting him publicly, as he wrote on his Truth Social platform that “Iranian leaders are incredibly deceitful! They ask for a meeting, some might even say… they beg… (for a meeting), discussions begin, and others are planned for the near future, and then they publicly and proudly state that they are not conducting any discussions.” He affirmed that the Strait of Hormuz is under “complete control” of the US Navy, adding, in reference to the blockade on Iranian ports, “Nothing is reaching Iran, and nothing will reach Iran until an agreement or full surrender is reached.”
Meanwhile, a member of Iran’s negotiating committee, Saeed Ajorloo, told Iranian state television yesterday that Iran’s objective in talks with the Sultanate of Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz is to “establish temporary arrangements” lasting between one and three months, during which Iran would be the controlling party, he claimed.
For her part, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported on the night of Monday into Tuesday that an “unknown projectile” struck a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, without indicating any casualties or damage. An unnamed cargo ship informed UKMTO that it had been “hit by an unknown projectile,” according to a statement from the agency, which noted that the incident occurred 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) northeast of the Omani city of Khasab.
