Trump said on Monday there was momentum toward ending the war with Iran, as he declared that the country “militarily is effectively over,” but kept open the possibility of new strikes.
Trump met at the White House with Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, a key mediator in the Iran war. It was his first meeting with a foreign leader since his party’s massive losses in the midterm elections.
He later took to social media handle on Truth Social, stating the two leaders had “an excellent conversation” and that “much was discussed with respect to the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
However, Trump has ruled out on resuming the conflict while leaving the door open to further strikes, a position he reiterated Monday at a White House press briefing.
“Iran, militarily, is effectively over. We’re just keeping the status quo,” Trump told briefing the reporters, “But if we do have to go back in, we are locked and loaded, and ready to go.”
In his social post on early Monday, Trump said that he believed further strikes were “quite unlikely” given that key US allies, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and others in the Gulf “would prefer the status quo”.
Meanwhile, Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated that its proposal continous to remain ‘on table’ but warned it would “rain down hell” if the US attacks resumed.
He said Iran will deliver results if Washington meets its requirements, including ending the war “on all fronts”.
Earlier on Saturday, security chief Mohsen Rezaei warned Trump of resuiming the war would see a ‘devastating’ response. Further stressing on dialogue, Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf outlined Iran’s “two-day plan” and said Washington must respect Iran’s rights for talks to advance.
What is the proposal?
The Qatar backed draft calls for the US to lift its naval blockade and release some frozen funds on Day 1.
On Day 2, Hormuz would reopen followed by nuclear talks on Iran’s highly enriched uranium.