US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the Tuesday deadline he set for Iran to conclude a deal was final, adding that the proposal received from Tehran was significant but not good enough, Reuters reports.
“They made a proposal, and it's a significant proposal. It's a significant step. It's not good enough,” Trump said of Iran.
“The war could be over very quickly if they do what they have to do. They have to do certain things. They know that, they negotiated, I think, in good faith,” the US president said during an annual Easter event at the White House.
Armistice option, rejected
Earlier on Monday, the White House confirmed that several mediating countries had proposed a 45-day truce in the war with Iran, but US President Trump rejected the proposal.
“This is one idea among many others and the president has not validated it. The “Epic Fury” operation continues and the president will speak at 1:00 p.m., Washington time (8:00 p.m. Romanian time), during a press conference, an American official said, quoted by AFP.
According to the American publication Axios, three mediating countries, namely Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt, proposed a 45-day truce as the first step to end the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran.
Trump does not rule out the deployment of ground forces in Iran
Donald Trump did not rule out the deployment of ground forces in Iran if the Gulf country does not reach an agreement and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, in an interview given to The Hill publication on Sunday, EFE and Agerpres previously reported.
Asked if he ruled out sending ground forces to Iran, the US president responded with a blunt “No”.
On Sunday, Trump pressured Tehran to reach a deal before a deadline he had given it, or attack the country's infrastructure.
“Normal people would make a deal. Smart people would make a deal. If they were smart, they would make a deal,” Trump told the outlet, echoing a message he had previously conveyed to other journalists.
The White House leader began his day on Sunday by again threatening Iran with “hell” if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday.
Trump extended his ultimatum to Tehran to open the strait to ships or attack Iran's power plants and bridges.
“Tuesday will be Iran's Power Plant Day and Bridge Day all rolled into one. Nothing will compare to this!!! Open the Goddamn Straits you crazy bastards or you will go to Hell – YOU WILL SEE! Praise be to Allah,” Trump wrote on his social media account, Truth Social.
The US president told The Hill that no infrastructure targets would be exempt from the attack strategy if the United States and Iran fail to reach an agreement.
Later, Iran's UN mission on Sunday called on the United Nations to act “now”.
“Once again, the President of the United States is openly threatening to destroy infrastructure critical to the survival of Iran's civilian population,” the mission on Platform X said.
Iran rejects the US plan
Iran gave an official response to the United States' proposal to end the war on Monday after weeks of high-level deliberations, Iran's IRNA news agency reported, citing Iran International. Tehran has rejected the proposed ceasefire, calling instead for a permanent solution to the conflict based on Iran's terms.
Iran's ten-point response was concluded after what IRNA described as “extensive assessments at the highest levels of the system”.
Tehran rejected the idea of a temporary ceasefire, citing past experiences of negotiations with Washington, and stressed the need for a lasting end to the war that would take into account Iran's demands.
Tehran's demands include an end to conflicts in the region, a protocol on safe passage of the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of sanctions and reconstruction.
