Trump says US-Iran talks underway, calls it ‘last chance’
Washington: US President Donald Trump said that talks with Iran are “going on right now,” adding that “this is a last chance.”
“We’re talking and we’re talking at the request of Iran, backed by Saudi Arabia, backed by UAE and backed by Qatar in particular, but others also,” Trump told reporters at the White House Oval Office after signing an executive order on military spouse.
“This is a last chance for them to sign a good document,” Trump continued.
“I think we’re going to maybe get something, but I want to give them every last chance before decapitation,” he said.
When asked about progress, Trump told reporters “you find out today or tomorrow … they’re going to go quickly one way or the other.”
He said that the two sides are talking about the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, “having it open literally by tomorrow, completely open, and that’s phase one.”
“And phase two is we then will talk about the nuclear capacity … the denuclearization of Iran has to happen,” he continued, adding that “that’ll take a little while.”
Earlier on the day, Trump took to social media to lash out at the Iranian leadership, accusing them of being “unbelievably duplicitous,” Xinhua news agency reported.
“They ask for a meeting, some would say ‘beg,’ talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that they’re not having any discussions, that nothing is being talked about, and they’re only dealing with ‘Oman,'” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said in Tehran on Monday that Iran is currently not engaged in any negotiations with the United States, and talks with Oman over Strait of Hormuz are underway.