WASHINGTON, October 26 (Aalimi Nation) – US President Donald Trump said on Sunday there would be no strike on Iran that day, as a Qatari team held talks in Tehran in an effort to ease tensions between the two countries. Iran said messages were still passing between the sides through intermediaries.
In an interview with a US broadcaster, Mr. Trump framed the choice before him in stark terms. "Do I make a deal with them or do I finish them off? That's the only question," he said. Asked whether strikes could resume that day, he said there would not be one, without ruling out later military action.
In a separate interview, he said the war would not end until Washington was satisfied that Iran had no nuclear weapons capability, and that he was willing to take time. "I'm going to make a great deal. I'm a longterm person; I'm not a short term person," Mr. Trump said.
An official briefed on the matter said the Qatari team was in the Iranian capital on Sunday as part of an effort coordinated with Washington to reduce regional tensions. Whether the team carried a message from Washington has not been confirmed.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said on Sunday that messages were being exchanged through intermediaries and that Tehran had not closed the diplomatic window. Other Iranian officials accused Washington of demanding "complete surrender".
Iran's ambassador to Pakistan said on Saturday that Tehran was willing to resume talks under the interim agreement brokered by Pakistan in June. He said Iran had offered, through Islamabad, to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the United States lifted its naval blockade, and accused Mr. Trump of insisting that the blockade stay in place.
The sticking point: sequencing
The dispute rests largely on sequence. Tehran links the reopening of the strait to an end of the blockade, while Washington presses first on the nuclear issue.
Regional concern over the strait
Foreign ministers from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, Britain, France, Germany and Italy met in Istanbul on Friday. Turkey's Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, warned that renewed attacks would widen the conflict.
Seven oil tankers were reported attacked or damaged near the strait on Friday, with Iranian forces or naval mines cited as the cause. The reports have not been independently verified. The US Central Command said it had supported more than 3,000 commercial transits through the area over six months and that over 95 per cent of vessels passed safely in recent months.
Renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia were also reported.
Reports said the US military has prepared strike options for the period after the November 3 midterm elections, to be used only if Mr. Trump authorises them.
Whether the Qatari visit leads to a formal resumption of negotiations is not yet clear. Any statement from Doha or Tehran on the outcome of the visit will be the next signal.
