Washington: US President Donald Trump said the White House expects to determine within a week whether Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is willing to engage with the United States, signalling a possible opening for diplomatic communication amid ongoing tensions.
“We’re gonna find out,” Trump told The New York Post in an exclusive interview. “I’ll let you know that in about a week.”
Trump described a dramatic shake-up inside Iran, claiming Iran’s old leadership has effectively been wiped out and replaced by a new group he said has so far been easier to work with, Xinhua reported quoting The New York Post’s interview.
“There has been total regime change because the regimes of the past are gone and we’re dealing with a whole new set of people,” Trump claimed. “And thus far, they’ve been much more reasonable.”
Meanwhile, Trump repeatedly urged Iran to make a deal “before it’s too late.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a press briefing on Monday that Trump hopes to reach a deal with Iran by April 6, which is the new deadline Trump set last week after postponing airstrikes on Iran’s energy facilities.
Leavitt also said that Iranian officials negotiating with Washington appear more reasonable, but refused to name them.
“These folks are appearing more reasonable behind the scenes, privately in these conversations, than perhaps some of the previous leaders who are now no longer on planet Earth,” said Leavitt.
Earlier on Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with Al Jazeera that “it’s not quite clear how decisions are being made inside of Iran” as Washington seeks to make a deal to end the war with Iran.
Though Trump has repeatedly claimed that negotiations with Iran are progressing well, no substantive progress has emerged, local analysts say, noting that continued strikes and military reinforcement in the Middle East are further dampening hopes for a swift de-escalation.
Sunday marked the one-month milestone in the US-Israeli war with Iran. On Monday morning, Trump threatened to “completely obliterate” all of Iran’s electricity-generating plants, oil wells, and Kharg Island if they do not reach a deal soon.
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Photo: X/@WhiteHouse
–IANS
