President Trump insisted on Tuesday that the negotiations between the US and Iran have continued despite Iranian media reporting that Iranian officials have cut off the talks, which were being mediated by Pakistan.
“Fake News Reports that the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the USA, stopped speaking a few days ago are false and erroneous,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“The conversations between us have been going on continuously, including four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, one day ago, and today. Where they lead, one never knows, but as I told Iran, ‘It’s time, one way or another, for you to make a Deal. You’ve been doing this for 47 years, and it cannot be allowed to go on any longer!'” the president added.
According to the latest Iranian media reports, Iran is still reviewing the latest US proposal, but the messages over the potential deal had stopped a few days ago, and the last thing Tehran had relayed to the US was a “stern” warning over Israel’s war and escalations in Lebanon.
When the initial ceasefire was announced by Pakistan, a statement that was reviewed by the US, it included an end to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, which never happened despite a nominal ceasefire being declared last month. Iranian officials have made clear in recent days that they view the continued war as a violation of the ceasefire deal.
While Israel has appeared to have backed down on threats to bomb Beirut, its war in southern Lebanon continues, with heavy strikes occurring on Tuesday despite statements from President Trump suggesting that some sort of ceasefire was agreed to. The US and Israel have been seeking an arrangement where Hezbollah would refrain from targeting northern Israel in exchange for Israel not bombing Beirut, but a Hezbollah official said Tuesday that the group wouldn’t accept a “partial ceasefire.”
