US President Donald Trump on Monday said Iran faced “decapitation” if ?it did not agree a pact to end the conflict between the two nations, saying Tehran had one last chance to strike a deal.
“I think we’re going to maybe get something, but I want to give them every last chance before decapitation,” he said, reiterating a threat to launch a major attack on Iran.
Earlier on Monday, Trump slammed what he called Iran’s “unbelievably duplicitous” leadership after Tehran said no talks were under way.
Trump, asked about the status of the negotiations, told reporters “they are going on right now,” adding that the two sides were speaking at the request of Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar among others.
“This is a last chance for them to sign a good document,” he said, referring to Iran.
The US president lashed out after Iran denied it was in negotiations with the United States, declaring in an angry social media post that a US military blockade would continue until there was a “Deal, or Total surrender”.
Calling Iran “duplicitous” for “openly and proudly” saying it was not negotiating, Trump wrote: “Whether Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused, for decades”.
The Iranian foreign ministry said that the only talks it was holding were with Oman to discuss plans for sharing control over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital passage for the global energy trade.
Trump insisted Iran had asked for talks—”some would say ‘beg'”—but was now giving “their usual blather” about controlling Hormuz.
The strait, Trump insisted, “is already completely controlled by the United States Navy and our ‘Blockade’ or, as some say, ‘The United States Wall of Steel!’ Nothing gets through to Iran, unless we want it to, and nothing will get through, unless a Deal, or Total Surrender, is accomplished.”
Trump launched a war, together with Israel, against Iran on Feb 28. Original goals included destruction of the country’s nuclear industry, missiles and backing for a popular uprising against the government.
More than five months later, Iran remains able to fire missiles and drones at US and allied targets in the region, and retains its enriched uranium stockpiles. Despite the US pressure, Iranian attacks on ships in Hormuz have severely impacted global energy trading, giving Tehran a strong new card in the standoff.
‘No date or venue’ finalised yet
“No date or venue” has yet been finalised for the resumption of long-stalled direct talks between the United States and Iran aimed at ending their months-long war, Pakistani government sources told Anadolu.
“There is no meeting [between US and Iranian negotiators] scheduled in Islamabad, at least in the next 24 hours,” a senior Pakistani official said.
The official was responding to Trump’s statement that new negotiations with Iran would begin on Monday afternoon after he decided to hold off on striking the Islamic republic.
Pakistani and Qatari mediators are in contact with Washington and Tehran to finalise a date and venue for the resumption of direct talks, the sources said.
Islamabad and Doha are among the expected venues for the talks, according to the sources.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is expected to visit Tehran “in a day or two” to discuss matters related to reviving the talks, they said.
Naqvi’s office did not respond to Anadolu’s request for comment.
The sources said “positive developments” concerning the resumption of talks were expected this week as both sides exchanged messages through mediators in an effort to revive direct negotiations under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.
Washington and Tehran signed the memorandum on June 17, agreeing to advance negotiations towards a permanent settlement on several contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme, within 60 days.
However, hostilities that began last month have cast uncertainty over the future of the agreement.
The US and Iran are expected to hold indirect talks through mediators in the initial phase to reach a “minimum understanding” before direct negotiations resume, according to the sources.
Sources added that the nuclear issue would not be included in the first phase of direct talks.
“The prime focus will be on consolidating the latest pause in the hostilities and returning to the pre-July 9 position,” one source said, referring to a joint de-escalation formula drafted last month by Pakistan and Qatar in consultation with “regional partners”.
Under the proposal, Tehran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which handled one-fifth of global oil supplies before the war began, while Washington would lift its blockade of Iranian ports.
No transit fee would be imposed on vessels passing through the strait until a final agreement on the issue was reached, the sources said.
Implementation of the ceasefire in southern Lebanon would also be among the leading items on the talks’ agenda, they added.
US military asks for ‘unconventional’ ideas
According to a CNN report released on Monday, a senior officer at the US military command carrying out the US war on sent an email request to troops for ideas on how to “punish Iran”.
“We are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran,” the officer in US Central Command’s intelligence branch wrote in a message sent on Wednesday to a broad group of military analysts, according to a source familiar with the message.
A second source also said that a senior US military officer sent the message last week soliciting new ideas for how to deal with Iran.
CNN reported that the crowdsourcing-style query was one sign of the limited – and potentially unpalatable —options available to Trump to force Iran into a deal on his terms, an option, which military officials said was unusual over email.
The official at CENTCOM began the brainstorming session via email to see if anyone had better ideas. The second source said CENTCOM acknowledged it needs to reevaluate the strategy by looking at everything.
“US Central Command has a long history of thinking and working in innovative ways,” Capt. Timothy Hawkins, a spokesperson for CENTCOM, said in a statement. “Admiral Cooper, in particular, reaches out to members of our great team, regardless of rank, to achieve the highest levels of operational performance possible.”Latest News, Breaking News & Top News Stories | The Express TribuneagenciesRead More