Trump keeps fragile Iran talks intact after urging restraint on Netanyahu, Tehran proxies in Lebanon
by Vaughn Cockayne, Tom Howell Jr. · The Washington TimesPresident Trump said Monday that peace talks with Iran remain on track after he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and representatives of the Iran-backed Hezbollah to rein in fighting in Lebanon.
Mr. Trump said negotiations were continuing during a head-spinning day in which Iran threatened to suspend negotiations over Israel’s bombardment of its proxies in Lebanon.
Iran said the fresh assault near Beirut violated the April 8 Middle East ceasefire, mediated by Pakistan, that has been hanging by a thread.
“Talks are continuing, at a rapid pace, with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Mr. Trump said on Truth Social.
The assurance underscored Mr. Trump’s desire to maintain momentum in negotiations to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon.
The U.S. and Iran were on the cusp of finalizing a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire. Yet talks were tripped up again by fresh skirmishes and thorny disputes over Israel’s bombardment of Hezbollah.
Describing a “productive call,” Mr. Trump said Mr. Netanyahu would not send additional troops toward Beirut, the Lebanese capital, and that troops en route would turn back.
“Likewise, through highly placed Representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop — That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel,” Mr. Trump wrote.
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The U.S. and Israel launched a military campaign against Iran on Feb. 28 to ensure that its regime could not obtain a nuclear weapon. Iran retaliated by closing the Strait of Hormuz, a critical choke point for global oil shipments, to cause economic pain in the U.S. and wider world.
Mr. Trump responded with a blockade of Iranian ports, though he has been mulling a deal to lift the blockade if the Islamic republic will open the strait and set the table for nuclear talks.
The U.S. and Iran exchanged fire over the weekend, raising tensions even as mediators closed in on a deal, and Israel launched its assault near Beirut, complicating the negotiations and angering the Iranians.
“The cease-fire between Iran and the U.S. is unequivocally a cease-fire on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Monday on social media. “Its violation on one front is a violation of the cease-fire on all fronts.”
A report by the semi-official Tasnim news agency said the Iranian regime was ready to pull out of talks.
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Mr. Trump then told NBC News that Iran’s withdrawal would be fine. He said the U.S. would stop relying on diplomatic talks and instead use economic leverage.
“It doesn’t mean we’re going to go and start dropping bombs all over there,” Mr. Trump said. “We’ll keep the blockade.”
Within hours, however, the president assured everyone that talks remained on track after speaking to parties in Lebanon and Israel.
Mr. Netanyahu, in a separate statement, said he reserved all options in fighting Hezbollah.
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“I spoke with President Trump and told him that if Hezbollah does not cease attacking our cities and citizens, Israel will attack terror targets in Beirut,” Mr. Netanyahu said on social media. “This stance of ours remains unchanged.”
Mr. Trump said he refuses to be rushed into a bad deal with Iran and that oil and gas prices will plummet once the war is settled.
Democrats and other critics of the Iran war say the conflict is taking a toll and needs to wind down.
The U.S. average cost of a gallon of gas is well above $4, compared with slightly below $3 when the war began.
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Democrats blasted Mr. Trump for the increase.
“Families can’t afford to wait for lower prices any longer as they dip even further into their savings or cancel their summer travel plans,” said Kendall Witmer, the Democratic National Committee’s rapid response director. “Trump and his administration have made it nearly impossible for everyday Americans to get by, and they’re offering nothing but excuses and empty promises.”
Oil prices jumped after Iran threatened to balk at talks Monday, though they eased again after Mr. Trump’s assurances.
Wall Street stocks were mixed, with strong earnings from the tech sector overcoming Middle East-related worries.
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Some Republicans are eager for a positive outcome before the hostilities become a political liability in the November midterm elections. Iranian leaders frequently point to discontent within the U.S. to needle the president and exude confidence.
Mr. Trump said Monday that Iran peace talks will “work out well in the end,” but he grumbled that his critics were making the process more difficult and undermining his negotiating position.
“Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the U.S.A. and those that are with us,” Mr. Trump said on Truth Social.
“But don’t the Dumocrats, and various seemingly unpatriotic Republicans, understand that it is MUCH tougher for me to properly do my job and negotiate, when political hacks keep negatively ’chirping,’ at levels never seen before, over and over again, that I should move faster, or move slower, or go to war, or not go to war, or whatever,” he said.
“Just sit back and relax,” Mr. Trump wrote. “It will all work out well in the end — It always does!”
Mr. Trump reportedly wants tougher language limiting Iran’s nuclear capabilities before he approves the 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ceasefire and engage in final-stage talks.
Iran shot down a U.S. drone, and the American side struck Iranian radar sites and a commercial vessel that tried to evade Mr. Trump’s blockade of Iranian ports.
U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said Monday that American forces intercepted two Iranian ballistic missiles targeting bases in Kuwait, further testing an already fragile ceasefire.
In a statement on social media, CENTCOM said U.S. forces successfully intercepted the missiles at 11 p.m. Sunday and that no personnel were harmed in the attack.
“U.S. Central Command remains vigilant,” it said, “and will continue to protect our forces from Iranian aggression while supporting the ongoing ceasefire.”
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Vaughn Cockayne
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Tom Howell Jr.
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