Trump casts doubts on Iran peace proposal as details emerge

EFFORTS continued to broker an end to the Iran war, now into its third month, as US President Donald Trump suggested the Islamic Republic’s latest peace proposal might not be enough to satisfy him.

Iran’s suggestions include setting a one-month deadline on talks for a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end both the US naval blockade and the fighting in Iran and Lebanon, US news website Axios reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

If such a pact is reached, another month of discussions would then begin in an attempt to reach an agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme, Axios said. 

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that the proposal called for a complete end to the conflict within 30 days, along with guarantees against renewed strikes.

It said the plan reiterates Teheran’s earlier demands, including that US forces withdraw from near Iran, a maritime blockade be lifted, sanctions removed, and reparations paid. The nuclear issue was not mentioned.

Trump, speaking to reporters on Saturday (May 2), said he had been briefed on the “concept of the deal”, but later cast doubts on whether it would be acceptable to him. He said he would not rule out restarting strikes on Iran if its rulers “misbehave”.

“I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but can’t imagine that it would be acceptable in that they have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to humanity, and the world, over the last 47 years,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. 

The US president has voiced frustration at the lack of progress in talks to end the conflict that began with US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic on Feb 28. Thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East since then, mainly in Iran and Lebanon.

Iran’s foreign ministry said on Sunday that the country’s top envoy, Abbas Araghchi, had briefed his Omani counterpart on the latest efforts to end the war. It gave no further details on their phone call.

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Energy prices have soared because of the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway south of Iran through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally flows.

That has stirred concerns in the White House that the Republicans could suffer a major defeat in November’s midterm elections as Americans cope with high petrol prices. 

Major members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies (Opec+) on Sunday agreed on a modest and symbolic increase in their June production quotas, delegates said.

Seven countries, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, would – at least on paper – add 188,000 barrels a day next month under the pact. 

The expected move, which follows the United Arab Emirates’ surprise exit from Opec, is largely symbolic as the group will not be able to implement the increase while Hormuz is blocked.

The waterway remains at the heart of the stalemate. After Iran effectively closed the strait, the US imposed a naval blockade on the Islamic Republic’s ports, seeking to squeeze its economy and choke off oil exports. 

Foreign Minister Araghchi has indicated that Teheran is ready to continue diplomatic efforts if the Americans change their approach and avoid “excessive demands, threatening rhetoric and provocative actions”. The military remains “fully vigilant”, he said.

Iran, which has long prepared for such scenarios, has begun curbing oil production as its storage tanks fill up, Bloomberg reported on Saturday.

The move aims to keep the country ahead of capacity limits rather than waiting for tanks to fill completely, said a senior Iranian official, who asked not to be identified because the information is sensitive.

Oil prices eased on Friday after touching wartime highs earlier in the week. Brent crude settled near US$108 a barrel, putting its gain for the week at 2.7 per cent. US petrol pump prices have surged to well above US$4 a gallon. BLOOMBERG