Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, said that Washington has accepted Iran’s request to continue negotiations, while the war between the two countries continues.
However, in a social media post on Friday, he reiterated his view that the June 17 deadline is over.
Recommended Articles
list of things 3end of series
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue the ‘talk’,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
“We have agreed to do so, but the United States has told you, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!”
Iran did not immediately confirm that any request for further talks had been made. The two sides have repeatedly given different accounts of their actions in the US-Israel war against Iran, which began on February 28.
Trump’s latest comments come as both sides have traded blows two days of attack on the trade route in the Strait of Hormuz.
At the end of June, the US and Iran similarly traded blows, after Trump accused the Iranian government of violating the ban by launching drones against naval vessels.
As of Tuesday, the US has struck 170 targets in Iran, according to the US Central Command, the military branch that oversees operations in the Middle East. Iran has retaliated by targeting US assets across the region.
This week’s exchange of fire is the biggest threat to the June 17 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which called for an end to hostilities in all areas, the removal of the US border with Iran, and the opening of the strait.
In Friday’s statement, Trump did not clarify whether the talks he mentioned would include further efforts to end the war, or whether they would focus on issues that must be resolved within 60 days of the document being signed.
These issues include the future of Iran’s nuclear program, the instability of Iran’s economy and the future management of the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier this week, Mr. Trump said that the US does not want to return to its permanent war with Iran, despite threats to attack Iran’s oil and water resources, “control” Iran’s Kharg Island and restore the US military blockade.
Qatari officials say they will go to Iran
On Friday, Qatari officials reportedly visited Iran “in an attempt to defuse tensions … and create conditions for talks to continue in Qatar or Pakistan”, Al Jazeera reporter Victoria Gatenby reported from Doha, Qatar.
Qatar’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request.
In a statement on Radio X on Friday, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the Qatari prime minister and foreign minister, said he asked the US and Iran to fulfill their commitments in a call with the Egyptian foreign minister.
Both the US and Iran have them the other case breaking the June anniversary, before the recent rise.
Iranian officials say the memo allows Tehran to have control over what ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz, thereby justifying attacks on non-compliant ships.
The US kept the deal in place to allow Iran to travel without restrictions.
However, both Washington and Tehran have incentives to return to negotiations. The war has not been popular with US politicians and threatens to derail Trump’s Republican Party in the mid-term elections in November.
Iran’s already battered economy has been crippled throughout the war, prompting the government to seek liquidation and sanctions relief.
Military expert Alex Alfirraz Scheers told Al Jazeera that any talks would be “very limited” unless trust can be restored.
“I think in many ways they’re symbolic,” he said. “Until there’s a real push to build trust and confidence, at this point these talks aren’t going anywhere.”
