WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he isn't satisfied with the latest Iranian proposal for talks on the Iran war, while Iran's foreign minister said Tehran was ready for diplomacy if the United States changes its approach.
Trump's comments came after Iranian state media and a Pakistani official said Iran submitted its latest proposal for negotiations, raising some hope that a deadlock in efforts to end the war might be broken.
"They want to make a deal, but … I'm not satisfied with it," Trump told reporters as he left the White House on a trip to Florida, claiming the Iranian leadership was "very disjointed" and split into two or three groups.
Ships and boats are seen Friday in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman.
Trump praised Pakistan's mediation efforts, saying negotiations by phone continued.
"They've made strides, but I'm not sure if they ever get there," Trump said. "They're asking for things that I can't agree to."
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Global oil prices, which remain well above $100 a barrel, eased following news of the Iranian proposal.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country is ready to pursue diplomacy if the United States changes what he called its "excessive approach, threatening rhetoric and provocative actions."
However, Araghchi added on social media that "Iran's armed forces remained ready to defend the country against any threat."
The price of gasoline is displayed Thursday at a gas station near the highway in Encinitas, Calif.
New strikes
The war, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, has led to the deaths of thousands of people while the closure of the Strait of Hormuz caused massive disruption to energy markets, choking off 20% of the world's oil and gas supplies.
The blockade of the vital sea channel also increased concerns about the possibility of a wider economic downturn. The U.S. Navy is blocking exports of Iranian crude oil, and on Friday the U.S. Treasury told shippers they risk sanctions if they pay tolls to Iran to pass through the Strait.
A ceasefire has been in place since April 8 but reports that Trump was to be briefed on plans for new military strikes to compel Iran to negotiate had pushed oil prices up to a four-year high at one point Thursday.
Iran activated air defenses and plans a wide response if attacked, having assessed that there will be a short, intensive U.S. strike, possibly followed by an Israeli attack, two senior Iranian sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
In response to U.S. and Israeli strikes at the start of the war, Iran fired at American bases, infrastructure and U.S.-linked companies in Gulf states, while the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel, which responded with strikes on Lebanon.
Trump's administration claimed the ceasefire with Iran "terminated" hostilities as a legal deadline arrived Friday for making the case to Congress about the war.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a signed proclamation Thursday in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington
Strait closure
Trump has repeated that Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, and claimed the price of gasoline — an important concern for his Republican Party before midterm elections in November — would drop sharply as soon as the war ended.
Iran has long demanded that the United States acknowledge its right to enrich uranium, which Tehran claims it seeks only for peaceful purposes but which Western powers say is aimed at building nuclear weapons.
Asked about his options, Trump said on Friday: "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?"
Asked if he wanted to blast the hell out of them, Trump said: "On a human basis, I prefer not."
China's U.N. ambassador, Fu Cong, said Friday it was an urgent necessity to maintain the ceasefire and that the Strait of Hormuz needed to be reopened as quickly as possible. He said he was sure the Strait would be high on the agenda if it is still closed when Trump travels to China this month.
