US President Donald Trump said aboard Air Force One that Washington agreed to the Iran ceasefire “as a favour” to Pakistan, while praising Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“We really did the ceasefire at the request of other nations. I wouldn’t have really been in favor of it, but we did it as a favor to Pakistan — terrific people, the field marshal and the prime minister,” Trump said.
The US president also ruled out further bombing of Iran for now. The US-Israel conflict with Iran began after coordinated strikes on February 28, triggering retaliatory attacks by Tehran on Gulf nations and major disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz. Although Washington and Tehran agreed to a temporary truce last month, negotiations for a permanent settlement remain unresolved.
Trump claims Iran unable to retrieve nuclear fuel
Speaking to reporters, Trump claimed Iran’s nuclear facilities had suffered severe damage and suggested Tehran lacked the capability to recover its enriched nuclear material.
“They came up with a terrible secret. They said that they can’t remove it because they don’t have the technology to remove it. They don’t have the time and the practice,” Trump said, according to PTI.
He reiterated that the United States would not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons and insisted Tehran must abandon its uranium enrichment programme entirely.
Trump also said Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed that Iran should not possess nuclear weapons.
Iran says it has ‘no trust’ in the US
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, however, said Tehran remains deeply sceptical of Washington’s intentions, blaming contradictory US messaging for slowing negotiations.
“Iran has every reason not to trust US while Americans have every reason to trust us,” Araghchi said during a visit to New Delhi for the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
He added that Iran would engage in talks only if the United States demonstrated genuine seriousness about reaching an agreement.
Araghchi also said Pakistan’s mediation efforts had not failed but were facing significant difficulties amid ongoing distrust between Tehran and Washington.
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