US President Donald Trump held a two-hour long meeting in the Situation Room of the White House on Saturday. It was believed that some major decision regarding Iran could be taken in this meeting, but even after the end of the meeting, no final announcement was made on any agreement or ceasefire. A White House official said that Trump will make only that agreement which will be in America’s interest and will fulfill its stipulated conditions. The official said that America will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons at any cost.
Before the meeting, Trump had said on Truth Social that Iran would remove the sea mines laid in the Strait of Hormuz. After this, America will end its naval blockade and the movement of ships will resume. Trump also claimed that Iran’s highly enriched uranium would be discovered and destroyed. However, Trump made it clear that at present no money will be given to Iran. This statement came after reports that Iran was demanding the release of seized assets worth $12 billion before moving to the next phase of talks.
Iran said- no deal has been finalized
On the other hand, Iran has said that no final agreement has been reached with America yet. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghai said that talks and exchange of messages are continuing between the two countries. He said that Iran’s biggest priority at this time is to end the war.
Baghai also said that no final discussion is taking place right now on the technical issues of uranium enrichment and nuclear programme. Regarding the Strait of Hormuz, he said that its future will be decided only by Iran and Oman. Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on social media that Iran achieves concessions not through negotiations but through its power. He said that Iran does not trust American promises and America will have to take action first.
On what issues are there differences between Iran and US?
There are still differences between the two countries on many major issues. America wants Iran to stop uranium enrichment and hand over the enriched uranium it has to some other country. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has 440.9 kg of uranium enriched up to 60%, which is considered very close to weapons-grade level.
America also wants that the Strait of Hormuz should be completely opened and the mines laid there should be removed within 30 days. On the other hand, Iran wants back its assets worth about $24 billion stuck abroad. At the same time, he is also demanding a guarantee that America will not back out from any agreement in future. In such a situation, talks are going on, but the final agreement is yet to be reached.
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