Jerusalem: US President Donald Trump told Israeli media that the United States is engaged in “deep” negotiations with Iran to secure a ceasefire, while stressing that Washington will not “leave in the middle” of the conflict.
Trump said his administration is maintaining contacts with Iran through multiple channels, led by his advisors Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to sources briefed on the talks, communication is being conducted through two tracks: indirect contacts mediated by Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey, and direct exchanges between US envoys and Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi.
The mediating countries are seeking to help both sides agree on measures that could allow an extension of the US-imposed deadline, the sources said, adding that recent phone calls between the parties have not yielded significant progress.
Trump told Channel 12 that there is “a good chance” that a deal could be reached before Tuesday’s “deadline”, but warned that failure to do so would prompt the United States to take “strong” action in the region.
The US president posted “Tuesday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time!” on social media later on Sunday, a message that appears to signal a possible extension of the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post earlier Sunday, the US president threatened that Tuesday would be “Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one” for Iran, and again urged Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Trump threatened to destroy all of Iran’s power plants if the country’s leaders don’t agree to reopen the strait by Tuesday evening.
“If they don’t come through, if they want to keep it closed, they’re going to lose every power plant and every other plant they have in the whole country,” Trump said.
In a phone interview with Fox, Trump said that a deal to end the conflict in Iran could be reached by Monday.
(IANS)
