U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he is “not satisfied” with Iran’s latest proposal to end the U.S.-Israeli war with the Middle Eastern country, which is currently under a continuing ceasefire, reported Xinhua.
“They want to make a deal, but I’m not satisfied with it,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
Iran reportedly delivered its proposal for a possible peace deal to the United States via Pakistani mediators on Thursday.
“We have just had a conversation with Iran. Let’s see what happens, but I would say that I am not happy,” Trump added. “They’ve made strides, but I’m not sure if they ever get there.”
The U.S. president claimed there is “tremendous discord” among the Iranian leadership in the aftermath of the U.S.-Israeli massive attacks launched on Feb. 28 against Iran.
“The leadership is very disjointed,” Trump said. “It’s got two to three groups, maybe four, and it’s a very disjointed leadership. And with that being said, they all want to make a deal, but they’re all messed up.”
Trump again threatened that Iran’s options are either striking a deal or facing being blast.
“Do we want to go and just blast the hell out of them and finish them forever? Or do we want to try and make a deal. That’s the options,” Trump claimed, adding that he received an updated briefing for military options from U.S. Central Command one day earlier.
Meanwhile, Trump dismissed the War Powers Act, a law limiting any president’s use of force beyond 60 days without congressional authorization, describing the law as “totally unconstitutional.”
“It’s never been used before. Why should we be different?” Trump said, signaling he would not seek congressional authorization to continue the war with Iran.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed earlier this week that the open-ended ceasefire “pauses” the war and meant the White House had not yet reached the 60-day mark.
Under the War Powers Act, Trump had until Friday to seek congressional authorization to continue the conflict or bring it to an end, with the option to extend the deadline by an additional 30 days.
Shippers paying Hormuz Strait tolls to Iran at risk of sanctions: US
Any shippers paying tolls to Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz are at risk of punitive sanctions, the U.S. Department of Treasury warned on Friday.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under the department said the U.S. is aware of “Iranian threats to shipping” and demands for payments to receive safe passage through the strait, and the demands may include several payment options including fiat currency, digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or nominally charitable donations made to the Iranian Red Crescent Society.
“OFAC is issuing this alert to warn U.S. and non-U.S. persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage,” an OFAC advisory said. “These risks exist regardless of payment method.”
The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly 20 percent of the world’s seaborne oil flows. Iran tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz after Israel and the U.S. launched their joint strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. The U.S. imposed a naval blockade targeting ships going to and from Iran.
