US President Donald Trump said Iran is “dying to make a deal” amid ongoing stalled negotiations between Washington and Tehran, speaking Thursday at the White House [1]. He claimed only a few people know the status of the talks and expressed uncertainty about who the Iranian leadership truly is. "We have a problem because nobody knows for sure who the leaders are. It’s a little bit of a problem," Trump stated [1].
Trump downplayed the necessity of restarting full-scale war, saying, "I don’t know that we need it [to restart war] … We might need it," indicating some ambiguity over future military actions [1]. The US-Iran conflict has now entered its third month according to the report [1].
According to Trump, the US Navy began a blockade of Iranian ports after the collapse of the first peace talks last month [1]. He also claimed US forces have destroyed Iran’s navy, air force, and air defences during the conflict [1].
Diplomatic activity continued as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio by phone to discuss the Middle East situation, according to a Beijing readout [1]. China called for reopening the Strait of Hormuz to shipping and denied allegations they supplied weapons to Iran [1].
The prolonged war and stalled diplomacy have left only a few people aware of the exact status of negotiations between the US and Iran [1]. The blockade of Iranian ports has further heightened tensions since last month’s failed peace talks [1].
