Trump Says Prefers Not to Strike Iran Even as Frustration Mounts
(Bloomberg) -- US President Donald Trump expressed frustration with Iranian negotiations but stopped short of threatening to end the brittle ceasefire between the countries and order fresh airstrikes.
“They want to make a deal but I’m not satisfied with it,” Trump told reporters at the White House Friday. “We just had a conversation with Iran. Let’s see what happens. But I would say that I am not happy.”
Asked about the administration’s options, Trump said that “on a human basis, I prefer not” to restart hostilities in a war that erupted with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February. Thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, and energy prices have soared because of the blockage of the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Later, speaking in Florida, Trump said “maybe we’re better off not making a deal at all,” without elaborating. “We can’t let this thing go on, you know, it’s going on too long,” he said.
Iran’s foreign minister said Tehran’s ready to continue diplomatic efforts if the Americans change their approach and avoid “excessive demands, threatening rhetoric, and provocative actions.”
The Islamic Republic’s military remains “fully vigilant,” Abbas Araghchi said.
The Strait of Hormuz — through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally flows — lies at the heart of the stalemate. Iran insists the US must end a naval blockade on its ports before Tehran’s leaders are willing to reopen the waterway.
The White House says the blockade is working by squeezing Iran’s economy and choking off its oil exports. It hopes to force Iran into concessions by continuing the naval operation.
Already, the country has begun curbing production as its storage tanks fill up, Bloomberg reported on Saturday. Yet Tehran has decades of experience preparing for versions of this scenario. It is proactively reducing crude output to stay ahead of capacity limits rather than waiting for tanks to fill completely, according to a senior Iranian official, who asked not to be identified because the information is sensitive.
Oil prices eased on Friday after touching wartime highs this week. Brent crude settled near $108 a barrel, taking its gain for the week to 2.7%. US gasoline pump prices have surged and are now well above $4 a gallon.
Trump reiterated his claim that energy prices will fall quickly once the war is over, and that talks with Iran were stalling because of divisions among its leaders. Many Middle East analysts dispute the idea that infighting is to blame and say that while Iranian authorities may differ on tactics, they largely back taking a hard line against Washington.
“Discord is not the source of the current logjam in talks, as indicated by the Trump administration,” Eurasia Group analysts Cliff Kupchan and Gregory Brew said in a note this week. “Negotiations are proceeding slowly because Iran’s leadership seeks leverage and a better offer from the US.”
Here’s more on the war:
- The world’s largest container carrier, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. SA, plans a new service linking Europe with isolated Middle East ports, using trucking across Saudi Arabia and smaller vessels in the Persian Gulf instead of transiting the blocked Strait of Hormuz.
- Oil tanker M/T Eureka was hijacked off the coast of Shabwa in Yemen by an unknown armed party, the Aden-based Yemeni coast guard said, adding the vessel was headed in the direction of Somalia. The war in Iran is fueling a resurgence in piracy off Somalia, according to the European Union.
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved expedited arms transfers to Israel, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. He is bypassing a standard congressional review to rush air defense missiles and laser guidance systems to the Middle East.
- An India-linked supertanker laden with liquefied petroleum gas is attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a rare crossing that underscores the country’s struggle to alleviate an energy crisis.
- Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc. is winding down operations after the US discount carrier buckled under the weight of surging fuel prices and a government bailout dangled by Trump fell through.
(Updates with Iran cutting production, tanker hijacking.)
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