President Trump said on Sunday that Iran’s response to the latest US proposal to reach a deal was “totally unacceptable,” signaling that the two sides are still not close to reaching a deal.
“I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘Representatives.’ I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Trump made similar comments to Axios reporter Barak Ravid, saying, “I don’t like their letter. It’s inappropriate. I don’t like their response… They have been tapping along many nations for 47 years.”
The president said that he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday about Iran’s response. According to Israeli media, Israeli officials are trying to convince their US counterparts to launch major airstrikes aimed at destroying Iran’s energy infrastructure.
An Iranian source told Iran’s Tasnim news agency that Trump’s rejection of Tehran’s response was “of no importance” because no one “writes proposals to please Trump.” The source added that the “negotiating team should draft proposals only for the rights of the Iranian people, and when Trump is dissatisfied with them, naturally that is better.”
Iranian media has reported that the Iranian response, which came after the US provided its response to a 14-point Iranian proposal, is focused on bringing a permanent end to the conflict and other hostilities in the region, including in Lebanon, where the Israeli military killed dozens of people over the weekend.
Iranian sources said Iran is also asking for an immediate end to the US blockade, the lifting of US sanctions, the release of frozen assets overseas, and the ability to freely sell its oil. The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran had offered to move some of its enriched uranium to a third country, but that hasn’t been confirmed by Iranian sources, which suggest the idea is to end the hostilities before negotiating on the nuclear issue.
