US President Donald Trump said on Monday that his representatives were having \u201cvery positive discussions\u201d with Iran that could \u201clead to something very positive for all\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He made these remarks in a Truth Social Post, also announcing an initiative to guide vessels stuck in the Strait of Hormuz out of the waterway, hours after Tehran said on Sunday that the United States had responded to its 14-point proposal via Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iranian state media quoted a foreign ministry spokesperson as saying that Tehran was reviewing the response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later, US Special Envoy on the Middle East Steve Witkoff\u00a0told\u00a0<\/u>CNN<\/u><\/em><\/a>\u00a0the US was \u201cin conversation\u201d with Iran as they weighed negotiations to end the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was followed by Trump\u2019s post on Truth Social, where he said: \u201cI am fully aware that my Representatives are having very positive discussions with the Country of Iran, and that these discussions could lead to something very positive for all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also said that countries from across the world, \u201calmost all of which are not involved in the Middle Eastern dispute going on so visibly, and violently, for all to see, have asked the United States if we could help free up their Ships, which are locked up in the Strait of Hormuz\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added, \u201cI have told my Representatives to inform them that we will use our best efforts to get their Ships and Crews safely out of the Strait. In all cases, they said they will not be returning until the area becomes safe for navigation, and everything else\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump announced that this process, \u201cProject Freedom, will begin Monday morning, Middle Eastern time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Ship movement is merely meant to free up people, companies, and Countries that have done absolutely nothing wrong \u2014 They are victims of circumstance. This is a Humanitarian gesture on behalf of the United States, Middle Eastern Countries but, but in particular, the Country of Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMany of these Ships are running low on food and everything else necessary for large-scale crews to stay on board in a healthy and sanitary manner. I think it would go a long way in showing Goodwill on behalf of all of those who have been fighting so strenuously over the last number of months. If, in any way, this Humanitarian process is interfered with, that interference will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Negotiations between the US and Iran had been deadlocked since a ceasefire<\/a>, brokered by Pakistan, came into effect on April 8, with only one round of direct peace talks<\/a> held in Islamabad so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And after it was reported that Iran had submitted its 14-point proposal, Trump was initially quick to cast doubt on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but I can\u2019t imagine that it would be acceptable in that they have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World over the last 47 years,\u201d he had said on his Truth Social platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n US news website Axios<\/em> reported, citing two sources briefed on the proposal, that it set \u201ca one-month deadline for negotiations on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, end the US naval blockade and permanently end the war in Iran and in Lebanon\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Separately, Al Jazeera<\/em> reported<\/a>, citing sources, that the proposal envisaged three main stages, aiming to \u201ctransform the ceasefire into an end to the war within 30 days\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the report, the proposal \u201cenvisions a pledge of nonaggression, including from Israel, to ensure there\u2019s no return to war and an end to fighting throughout the Middle East\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It said the proposal suggested the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in the first phase, as well as lifting of the US blockade of Iranian ports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the proposed plan, Tehran would take charge of dealing with sea mines, the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It added that the second phase was proposed to include \u201cIran\u2019s return to uranium enrichment after the time limit at 3.6 per cent in accordance with the \u2018zero-storage principle\u2019\u201c.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, the plan includes the US and Israel refraining from attacking Iran and its allies in exchange for Iran refraining from launching strikes, the report said, adding that Iran had also rejected \u201cdismantling nuclear infrastructure or destroying Iran\u2019s facilities\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLifting sanctions includes the gradual release of frozen funds,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the third phase, Tehran proposed to enter \u201cinto a strategic dialogue with Arab neighbours and building a security system that includes the entire Middle East\u201d, the report stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following Trump\u2019s remarks about the proposal likely being unacceptable, the Revolutionary Guards said he must choose between \u201can impossible operation or a bad deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe room for US decision-making has narrowed,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The day before, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi told diplomats<\/a> in Tehran that \u201cthe ball is in the United States\u2019 court to choose the path of diplomacy or the continuation of a confrontational approach\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iran, he said, was \u201cprepared for both paths\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a brief interview with reporters in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday, the US president declined to specify what could trigger new American military action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf they misbehave, if they do something bad, but right now, we\u2019ll see,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2019s a possibility that could happen, certainly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said Iranian forces would sink US ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe US is the only pirate in the world that possesses aircraft carriers. Our ability to confront pirates is no less than our ability to sink warships. Prepare to face a graveyard of your carriers and forces,\u201d he posted on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His remarks came after Trump, while addressing a rally in Florida, compared the US action in the sea to that of pirates. \u201cWe\u2019re like pirates\u201d, as he described an earlier helicopter raid on an oil tanker under the US blockade of Iranian ports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe \u2026 landed on top of it, and we took over the ship. We took over the cargo, took over the oil. It\u2019s a very profitable business,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Sunday, Iran\u2019s envoy to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, also said that the continuation of talks between Tehran and Washington depended on the latter\u2019s behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>The proposal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\u2018Impossible operation or bad deal\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\u2018If they misbehave\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n