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US president Donald Trump is yet to make his ‘final determination’ on the war in Iran, despite holding a meeting with advisers on Friday to reach a decision on extending the ceasefire.
Trump is yet to decide whether to move forward with a deal to extend the Iran ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran also noting that an agreement has not been finalised.
A senior US administration official said the roughly two-hour meeting in the White House situation room with national security aides had concluded without a decision.
The official, who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Trump would only sign a deal that “satisfies his redlines” and curbs Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Iran has 440.9kg of uranium that is enriched up to 60 per cent purity. This is only a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The US wants Iran to give up the uranium, but Iran is still refusing to do so, with Trump repeatedly saying he does not want Tehran to have a nuclear weapon.
Trump wrote on social media that “Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb”.
He also argued that the strait must be reopened for international navigation and all sea mines destroyed.
Hegseth “quite confident”
Despite the troubles to reach an agreement on certain topics, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said he’s “quite confident” that Trump will secure a deal with Iran.
Speaking in Singapore, Hegseth said: “Any deal that the president is willing to make, he’s only going to make what he believes is a great deal, for our country and the world… You saw it in how he’s been talking about it publicly.”
He added that the “goalposts haven’t shifted at all”, claiming the closer Iran get to meeting US “expectations” the likelihood of a deal is clearer.
Hegseth also said talks so far “have been productive”, but that the US military is prepared to resume operations in the Gulf region if required.
“Betraying diplomacy”
However, despite Hegseth claiming talks were progressing, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, accused Donald Trump of”betraying diplomacy for the third time” in his response to the current peace proposal.
The adviser pointed towards the continuing US naval blockade enforced on Iran and what he described as excessive demands in negotiations.
He also blamed the White House for the failure to create a concrete peace deal between the two nations.
Another senior Iranian diplomat also told ISNA news agency that Iran’s draft for an initial agreement encompasses an end to the war on all fronts, the release of blocked Iranian assets and the lifting of the US naval blockade.
Iran also want the Strait of Hormuz reopened alongside the withdrawal of US forces from Iran’s vicinity, and the freedom to sell Iranian oil.
