U.S. President Donald Trump said he was prepared to wait for "the best deal" to end his conflict with Iran and said he was in no rush to reach a peace agreement and wanted it to be "everlasting," while continuing to assert that the U.S. had a clear upper hand in the naval stand-off in the Strait.
A day after Iran flaunted its tightened grip over the key shipping corridor, Trump dismissed the threat posed by Iran's "little wise-guy ships" and said he believed Tehran was hamstrung from making a deal because its leadership was in turmoil.
On Thursday (23 April), he said the U.S. Navy has orders to "shoot and kill" Iranian boats laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. could knock out in a day any refurbishing of weapons that Iran may have made during a ceasefire in place since 8 April.
But navigation in the passage remained effectively blocked with the U.S. blockade and Iran stopping ships passing through the narrow waterway, capturing two cargo ships on Wednesday. The situation has caused trouble for oil markets and brought major strains to the global economy.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday rejected Trump's claim of disarray in the leadership describing it as "the enemy's media operations" to maliciously undermine Iranian unity and security.
"Unity will become stronger and more solid, and enemies will become weaker and more humiliated," he said in a post on X, as he remained out of the public eye since taking over from his father, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who was killed by U.S. strikes in the early days of the war that began on 28 February.
Trump said this week he would indefinitely extend what had been a two-week ceasefire with Iran to allow for further peace talks, which have yet to be scheduled.
"Don't rush me," he said when asked how long he was willing to wait for a long-term peace deal. "I want to make the best deal ... I want to have it everlasting."
He ruled out the use of nuclear weapons, telling reporters they were unnecessary because the U.S. had "decimated" Iran with conventional arms.
"No, I wouldn't use it. A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody," Trump said when asked by a reporter at the White House.
Despite the extension of the ceasefire, fighting continued in southern Lebanon as Israeli forces continued to pound the Iranian-backed Hezbollah targets following some of the deadliest days since their earlier deal to halt fighting on 16 April.
The Israeli military said on Thursday that it killed two armed individuals in southern Lebanon after identifying them approaching soldiers and posing what it described as an immediate threat.
Those killed by Israeli strikes this week included Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil, according to a senior Lebanese military official and her employer, Al-Akhbar newspaper.
Hezbollah said it carried out four operations in south Lebanon on Wednesday (22 April) in response to Israeli strikes. The group was not present at the ceasefire talks in Washington.
Israel has sought to make common cause with Lebanon's government over Hezbollah, which was founded by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and which Beirut has been seeking to disarm peacefully for the past year.
Separately, before the announcement in Washington on Thursday, Israel warned it was ready to restart attacks on Iran.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel was waiting for a "green light" from the U.S. to resume the war, saying that if it did, it would begin by targeting Khamenei and "return Iran to a dark age."
U.S. and Iranian officials said they had agreed on a framework to end their war, halt the U.S. blockade of Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a pre...
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The U.S. and Iran say they have reached a deal to end their conflict, with an immediate ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz after the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade. Talks will continue over the next 60 days to finalise the agreement
U.S. President Donald Trump has said a peace agreement with Iran is scheduled to be signed on Sunday in a post on social media, despite Tehran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei saying no deal would be approved this weekend.
U.S. and Iranian officials said they had agreed on a framework to end their war, halt the U.S. blockade of Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a preliminary pact that sent oil prices falling but leaves the fate of Iran's nuclear program to further negotiations.
Details of a reported draft memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran offer the clearest picture yet of how both sides plan to end months of conflict and move towards a longer-term settlement.
The U.S. and Iran say they have reached a deal to end their conflict, with an immediate ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz after the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade. Talks will continue over the next 60 days to finalise the agreement
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that a draft memorandum with the U.S. covers issues including Iran’s nuclear programme, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and U.S. waivers on oil sanctions, with further negotiations expected within 60 days of an initial agreement.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said a peace agreement with Iran is scheduled to be signed on Sunday in a post on social media, despite Tehran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei saying no deal would be approved this weekend.
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