The US-Israeli war on Iran enters a third month and efforts for Washington and Tehran to resume talks remain stalled. These are major takeaways from the events overnight.
What did Trump say?
US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday that Iran is “dying to make a deal”.
When asked whether talks with Tehran have stalled, Trump said only a few people know the status of talks with Iran. He also pointed to uncertainty over the Iranian leadership: “We have a problem because nobody knows for sure who the leaders are. It’s a little bit of a problem.”
Asked if he would consider restarting the war, Trump appeared to downplay the possibility. “I don’t know that we need it [to restart war] … We might need it.”
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As he has done many times before, Trump claimed that Iran was struggling because of the US Navy’s blockade of Iranian ports, which began after the first peace talks between the two sides collapsed last month.
Trump also reiterated that the US had destroyed the country’s navy, air force and air defences and that the blockade was working as planned.
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In the latest move to prepare for Trump’s delayed visit to China, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed the Middle East situation in a phone call with his US counterpart Marco Rubio, according to a readout issued by Beijing. No details were provided.
China has called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and denied claims that it has supplied weapons to Iran.