President Donald Trump said Iran is ready to make a deal to end the war but the US wants better terms, signaling no let up in a conflict that’s brought shipping in the strategic Strait of Hormuz to a near standstill and upended energy markets, Bloomberg reported.
Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Islamic Republic is open to “any regional initiative that leads to a fair end to the war,” according to an interview published by the UK-based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed news website on Sunday.
He added that no specific proposal has yet been presented.
“Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” Trump told NBC on Saturday, saying that a “very solid” agreement would have to include a commitment by Tehran to abandon nuclear ambitions.
The president gave no further details on any negotiations and it’s not clear who, if anyone, is conveying messages between the US and Iran.
Trump also called on other countries to send warships to keep open the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil exports flow. He said he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK would take part.
The United Arab Emirates said Sunday it was intercepting missiles and drones from Iran, telling residents that blasts heard in parts of Dubai were the projectiles being shot down. The UAE says it has engaged 1,600 drones and more than 300 missiles launched by Iran since the conflict began.
Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, told MS NOW that “it is clear” the missiles that hit Kharg Island came from the UAE.
Anwar Gargash, a senior foreign policy advisor to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, said the country “has the right to self-defense in the face of this terrorist aggression imposed upon it, yet it continues to prioritize reason.”
Oil-loading operations at Fujairah — a key UAE port — resumed on Sunday after a drone strike and fire forced a halt to exports the day before, according to people familiar with the situation. They asked not to be identified as they aren’t authorised to comment.
