The Iranian government yesterday Tuesday ruled out the idea of modifying its proposals to end the war, in the Middle East, which the president of US Donald Trump has deemed “totally unacceptable”, “for garbage”.
He threatened to order a resumption of the operation to escort merchant ships wanting to leave the Gulf by crossing the Seaway of Hormuz, which has been de facto closed by Iran.
“There is no alternative but to accept the rights of the Iranian people as set out in the 14-point proposal. Any other approach will be completely fruitless,” Mohammad Bayr Galibaf, the Islamic Republic’s chief negotiator, said for his part via X, more than a month after the fragile ceasefire was declared.
Mr. Galibaf, a retired Revolutionary Guards major general, now speaker of parliament, also opined, referring to the American negotiators, that “the longer they drag their feet, the greater the price American taxpayers will pay” as the price of oil remain soaring.
His statement seems like a retort to Donald Trump, who rejected the Iranian counterproposal and likened the April 8 ceasefire to patient on “mechanical respiratory support”.
The contents of Washington’s initial proposal to Tehran have not been made public. According to some media reports, it contained a protocol of agreement to end hostilities, as well asa framework for negotiating the issue of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear power programme.
Future “uncertain”
In its response, Tehran demands an immediate end to the war across the region, including Lebanon, where exchanges of fire between the Israeli army and Hezbollah have not stopped, although a separate ceasefire has in theory been put in place.
Also, the Iranian government has demanded that the blockade of Iranian ports by the U.S. Navy be lifted and that Iran’s resources frozen abroad be released, according to the State Department.
Despite the Republican’s assurances that Iranian armed forces have been decimated because of U.S.-Israeli strikes, Tehran retains great capabilities in its missile arsenal, according to U.S. intelligence officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to the New York Times.
Iran maintains in operational readiness 30 of the 33 missile launch facilities it estimates it has along the Strait of Hormuz and about 70 percent of its pre-war missile arsenal, the newspaper’s sources noted.
The eyes on Beijing
The eyes now turn to Peking, where US President Trump will be starting tonight, expected to meet with his counterpart Si Jinping.
According to the US administration, he means to put pressure on China, the main importer of Iranian oil, to exert its influence on Tehran.
Donald Trump said he expects to have a “long conversation” with his counterpart Xi about the war. Before appearing to take back that comment minutes later: “We have a lot of things to talk about. And I wouldn’t say Iran is part of them.”
The U.S. president also assured that he has no “need for any assistance with respect to Iran” from Beijing.
“Headline” lever
The prolonged paralysis in the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime artery of strategic importance for the global hydrocarbon trade and beyond, has further boosted fuel prices, with a barrel of North Sea Brent touching $108 around midnight.
“Iran should not use the strait as a weapon to exert pressure,” said Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdelrahman al-Thani, the prime minister of Qatar, which has been particularly hard hit by the blockade.
“The lever of Hormuz is capital,” opined Toma Zinot, a professor at Ottawa University, who said Tehran expects U.S. President Trump to lose patience because of rising fuel prices at gas stations as the midterm elections approach on Nov. 3. This is while the cost of the war, according to the Pentagon, is approaching $29 billion.
