U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he is not satisfied with Iran’s latest proposal to end the two-month war with the United States and Israel, even as Tehran sent a revised offer to Washington through Pakistani mediators.
“Iran wants to make a deal, but I’m not satisfied with it,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “Iran wants to make a deal because they have no military left.”
'Iran wants to make a deal, but I'm not satisfied with it'
(Video: X)
Earlier Friday, Pakistani officials in Islamabad who have been involved in mediating talks between the United States and Iran confirmed that Tehran had sent them an updated proposal to end the war, which was then passed to American officials. No details of the proposal have been made public.
Trump said Iran has “made strides” in negotiations with Washington, “but I’m not sure if they ever get there.”
The president said there “is tremendous discord” among Iran’s leaders, complicating efforts to reach an agreement.
“They’re having a tremendous problem getting along with each other,” Trump said. “In Iran, the leadership is very disjointed. 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,” he said.
The latest diplomatic move came a day after Iranian state media reported that Tehran had passed an updated proposal to Pakistani mediators for delivery to the United States. The renewed channel comes as Trump balances public threats, military preparations and continued diplomacy in an effort to end the war while pressing Iran to dismantle its nuclear program.
Trump was scheduled Thursday to receive a briefing from the head of U.S. Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, on new plans for possible military action against Iran. According to Axios, U.S. Central Command has prepared a plan for a “short and intense” wave of strikes against Iran, likely including infrastructure targets, in an effort to break the deadlock in talks and bring Tehran back to the negotiating table with greater flexibility on the nuclear issue.
CENTCOM has also prepared a plan to take control of part of the Strait of Hormuz in order to reopen it to commercial shipping, an operation that could include ground forces. Another option previously discussed, and that could be raised in the briefing, is a special forces operation to extract about 450 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% that is held by Iran.
Since announcing a ceasefire on April 7, Trump has not appeared eager to resume the war. After threatening to destroy Iranian civilization, he has repeatedly chosen diplomacy, while still seeking to increase economic pressure on Iran’s government to force it to meet his central demand: dismantling its nuclear program.
At the same time, Iran’s leadership has continued to issue threats. In a statement read on Iranian state television in the name of Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, he said 90 million Iranians would “defend the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and missile capabilities,” against the backdrop of Trump’s demand.
Khamenei also appeared to signal again Iran’s intention to retain control of the Strait of Hormuz, a route through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will make the Persian Gulf region safe and put an end to the hostile enemy’s misuse of this waterway. The legal rules and new management of the Strait of Hormuz will bring prosperity and progress for all the peoples of the region,” he said.
Of the United States, he added: “Your only place in the Persian Gulf is at the bottom of the sea.”
In a separate statement published on X and read on state television, Khamenei said: “Ninety million proud and honorable Iranians inside and outside the country regard all of Iran’s identity-based, spiritual, human, scientific, industrial and technological capacities — from nanotechnology and biotechnology to nuclear and missile capabilities — as national assets, and will protect them just as they protect the country’s waters, land and airspace.”
He added: “By God’s help and power, the bright future of the Persian Gulf region will be a future without America, one serving the progress, comfort and prosperity of its people.
“We and our neighbors across the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman share a common destiny. Foreigners who come from thousands of kilometers away to act with greed and malice there have no place in it — except at the bottom of its waters.”
About six weeks after being appointed supreme leader following the killing of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba Khamenei has yet to appear in public. Ali Khamenei was killed on the morning Israel launched Operation Roaring Lion. According to reports, the younger Khamenei is being held in a secure location where he is receiving treatment for severe injuries sustained in the same strike that killed his father, his wife and his son. He is said to be awaiting a prosthetic leg and plastic surgery for burns to his face, injuries that also make it difficult for him to speak.
Iranian sources recently told The New York Times that he does not want to appear in public while weak and injured and is waiting for his condition to improve.
In recent weeks, Iran has also begun charging transit fees of up to $2 million to ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, even though the world regards the strait as an international waterway that should be open to all without such fees. Gulf states, led by the United Arab Emirates, have condemned Iran’s actions and accused it of piracy.
Commentators have warned that if the war ends with Iran still controlling the strait and profiting economically from transit fees, it would deal a significant blow to efforts to weaken or topple the regime.
For now, the renewed Iranian proposal suggests Tehran is still seeking a path to end the war. But Trump’s remarks made clear that Washington does not yet view the offer as sufficient, and that the central dispute over Iran’s uranium enrichment and nuclear program remains unresolved.