President Donald Trump has declared “some pretty good news on Iran”, suggesting the possibility of an end to the conflict which has been ongoing for months.
The US President also said that a ceasefire in the conflict may not be extended without a peace deal by Wednesday. The announcement comes after Iran’s decision to reopen the Strait of Hormuz following a separate US-brokered ceasefire agreement by Lebanon and Israel.
Trump, speaking on Air Force One late on Friday, declined to elaborate on what the good news was.
“It seems to be going very well in the Middle East with Iran,” he told reporters while returning to Washington from Phoenix, Arizona. “We are negotiating over the weekend. I expect things to go well. Many of these things have been negotiated and agreed to.”
But he cautioned that the ceasefire with Iran can be jeopardized if the country will not agree to reach a peace deal before it expires on Wednesday, adding that “US blockade of Iranian ports would continue.”
On the other hand, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who headed Iran’s delegation in the recent talks with the US in Islamabad, said on X “Trump made seven claims in one hour, all seven of which were false.”
“They did not win the war, and they will certainly not get anywhere in negotiations either with these lies,” Ghalibaf added.
On the Strait of Hormuz, he said that, with the “continuation of the [US] blockade, the strait will not remain open.”
Earlier, Iran’s foreign minister declared the opening of Strait of Hormuz for commercial ships. Despite these developments, uncertainty prevails in the geopolitical landscape as tracking data shows that around 20 ships moved through the Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz on Friday evening, but very few passed through it without any tangible reason.
According to Marine Traffic vessel tracking data, A cruise ship that was stranded in Dubai, the Celestyal Discovery, however crossed the strait and was headed to Oman on Saturday morning.
