In the chess game in the Middle East, Iran is trying to end the stalemate in negotiations with a move that appears to be stalling and once again putting Washington in difficulty.
Tehran has proposed reopening Hormuz in exchange for lifting the US blockade and ending the war, postponing nuclear negotiations to a later stage .
The Iranian proposal, entrusted to Pakistani mediators, would reopen the transit of oil and fertilizer, relieving international markets. But it would deprive Donald Trump of a key lever in future negotiations to remove Iran's enriched uranium stockpiles and suspend enrichment, two primary US war objectives.
Trump and his national security team are skeptical of this proposal, the Wall Street Journal reports. The US president discussed the offer with his aides gathered in the Situation Room: while not categorically rejecting it, he reportedly expressed doubts, convinced that Iran is unwilling to meet his fundamental demands: an end to uranium enrichment and a commitment to never produce nuclear weapons . CNN also states that Trump is "unlikely" to accept.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio went out on a limb in an interview with Fox: "If what they mean by opening the straits is 'yes, the straits are open as long as you coordinate with Iran, get our permission, or we'll blow you up and you'll pay us,' that's not opening the straits," he said. "We cannot normalize a system where the Iranians decide who can use an international waterway and how much they have to pay to use it," he added.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz , during a meeting with students in the city of Marsberg, harshly criticized Washington, which he said had been "humiliated" by Tehran in the negotiations . "The Iranians are evidently very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skilled at not negotiating, allowing the Americans to travel to Islamabad and then leave without any results. An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by the so-called Revolutionary Guards . I therefore hope that all this ends as soon as possible," he said, emphasizing that he does not understand what exit strategy the United States is pursuing in the war with Iran.
(Unioneonline/L)
