Donald Trump has claimed that Iran has requested a ceasefire, but he has rejected it
Trump has claimed that Iran ‘wants a deal'(Image: Anna Moneymaker, Getty Images)
Donald Trump has dismissed a ceasefire proposal put forward by Iran. Despite appeals from the United Nations and global leaders to lay down arms, Trump stated that he had declined Iran’s offer for a ceasefire as the terms were not satisfactory.
“Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” he said, adding that any conditions would need to be “very solid” for the US to consider negotiations. When questioned by NBC News about what terms he would accept to end the conflict, the 47th President of the United States responded: “I don’t want to say that to you.”
However, he did concede that Iran would need to abandon any nuclear aspirations it may still harbour to secure a deal.
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I dont know if hes even alive. So far, nobodys been able to show him, Trump said(Image: (Image: Getty))
He did inform NBC that the only power Iran possesses, ” and it’s a power that can be closed off relatively quickly, is the power of dropping a mine or shooting a relatively short-range missile”, reports the Mirror.
Trump continued: “But when we get finished with the shoreline, they’re not going to have that power either.”
He subsequently stated: “We’ve knocked out most of their missiles. We’ve knocked out most of their drones. We knocked out their manufacturing of missiles and drones, largely. Within two days, it’ll be totally decimated.”
He also informed NBC that US airstrikes had “totally demolished” the majority of Iran’s Kharg Island, before boasting that the American military ” may hit it a few more times just for fun”.
Trump’s assertion that Iran has requested a ceasefire contradicts analysis from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy research organisation that promotes an informed understanding of military affairs through research, analysis, and education.
According to the ISW: “Neither Iran nor the United States is prepared to hold discussions to reach a ceasefire despite mediation efforts by Oman and Egypt, according to Iranian, regional, and White House officials speaking to Reuters on March 14.”
In its summary of the conflict for 14 March, the ISW added: “Three sources familiar with the efforts told Reuters that the Trump administration rejected efforts by Middle Eastern allies, including Oman and Egypt, to start diplomatic talks to end the war with Iran.”
Trump revealed his theory during a phone call on Saturday(Image: (Image: Jake Paul/YouTube))
Meanwhile, in the same NBC interview, Trump also claimed he has been informed Iran’s new Supreme Leader is “not alive”. Trump added that if he is alive, he should surrender.
Trump’s claims about Mojtaba Khamenei follow the recently installed Ayatollah’s failure to appear on camera before his nation on Thursday, as had been expected. Khamenei, son of the Islamic Republic’s previous supreme leader of the same name, was due to deliver his first statement as leader.
However, Khamenei failed to appear, sparking suspicions worldwide about his whereabouts and health status.
Trump told NBC: “I don’t know if he’s even alive. So far, nobody’s been able to show him.”
He continued: “I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender.”
An unnamed source within the Iranian capital of Tehran reported that Khamenei, 56, allegedly lost at least one leg and sustained severe abdominal or liver injuries during a strike by the US or Israel, according to The Sun.
The source provided extensive details regarding the new leader’s alleged medical condition, treatment, location and security arrangements. According to the source, he is receiving care at Sina University Hospital in the city’s historic quarter, where an area has been cordoned off and heavily guarded.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Iranian state television has confirmed that Khamenei was injured in recent explosions, however, the claims made by an anonymous source cannot be independently verified due to Iran’s ongoing internet blackout. In a conversation with the Associated Press, Türkiye’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan admitted he is unaware of the extent of Khamenei’s injuries but assured that “what we know is that he is alive and functioning”.
Fidan’s remarks follow statements from Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, who asserted there was “no problem” with the Islamic republic’s newly appointed supreme leader. These assertions were made after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested the Iranian leader is “wounded and likely disfigured”.
This week, Iran announced Mojtaba Khamenei as its new Supreme Leader following the death of his father, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the Middle Eastern conflict.
