Iran's chief negotiator said recent talks with the US had made progress but gaps remained on nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz, while President Donald Trump cited "very good talks" with Tehran despite warning against "blackmail" over the key shipping channel.
Neither side offered any details about the state of negotiations on Saturday, days before a fragile ceasefire in the US-Israeli war against Iran expires.
The war, now in its eighth week, has killed thousands of people, spilled over into Israeli attacks in Lebanon and sent oil prices soaring due to the de facto closure of the strait, which before the war carried a fifth of the world's oil shipments.
“We have made progress, but there is still a big distance between us,” Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, told state media, referring to talks last weekend. “There are some issues that we insist on… They also have red lines. But these issues may be just one or two.”
Trump said the US was having "very good talks," but gave no further details.
Tehran reversed course on Saturday to reassert control over the strait, again closing the energy chokepoint and adding new uncertainty to the war, which the US and Israel launched on February 28.
Iran said it was responding to the ongoing US blockade of Iranian ports, calling it a violation of the ceasefire, while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Iran's navy was ready to inflict "new bitter defeats" on its enemies. Trump called the move "blackmail" even as he praised the talks.
US President Donald Trump reposted videos on his social media platform, Truth, showing Iranians chanting slogans of appreciation and support for US actions against the Islamic Republic.
Trump then posted another image with the caption: "The best is yet to come."
"Whether you like it or not, Israel has proven to be a great ally. They are brave, courageous, loyal and intelligent, unlike others who have shown their true colors in a time of conflict and stress," US President Donald Trump said on his social media platform, Truth, stressing that the Jewish state fights hard and knows "how to win."
According to U.S. intelligence estimates, Iran likely still has access to about 70 percent of its prewar stockpile of ballistic missiles and about 60 percent of its missile launchers. A New York Times report confirms this. According to the Times, when the two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States took effect on April 8, Tehran had access to about half of its ballistic missile launchers.
Since then, the report says it has managed to dig up another 100 launchers, bringing the total number of operational missile launchers to about 60 percent of the pre-war total. In addition to the launchers, the report claims that Iran is also working to recover any missile stockpiles that were left buried under the rubble of U.S. and Israeli attacks. Once that operation is complete, U.S. intelligence officials believe Tehran will have a missile arsenal equivalent to about 70 percent of its pre-war level.
Israel is preparing for a possible resumption of fighting with Iran, Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported, after, according to Axios, President Donald Trump called a meeting in the White House Situation Room following Tehran's announcement of a repeated closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
