WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump said he’s still not satisfied with Iran’s peace offerings, hours after Iranian negotiators relayed a new proposal.
Speaking with reporters on the White House lawn on May 1, the president said Iran’s leadership has been “very disjointed.” Trump also signaled he’d hold off on dispatching his envoys for in-person talks, because such engagements entail lengthy travel and have yet to yield much progress.
The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported that Iranian negotiators transmitted their latest peace terms through Pakistani intermediaries overnight on April 30.
When asked why he isn’t satisfied with the latest proposal, Trump told reporters, “They're asking for things that I can't agree to.”
Iranian forces began attacking shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and its neighboring waters after U.S. and Israeli forces commenced strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
After Washington and Tehran agreed to a ceasefire on April 8, U.S. forces began imposing a new blockade of traffic in and out of Iranian ports, constricting Iran’s trade revenues.
The U.S. Central Command—which oversees military operations in the Middle East—reported U.S. forces had deprived Iran of an estimated $6 billion in revenues, as of April 29.
On April 30, Iran’s ruling Shia Muslim cleric Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Iran would ultimately implement new rules of management over the Strait of Hormuz. Khamenei also said Iran would preserve its nuclear program as a national asset.