Iran says it has ‘new cards’ if fighting resumes, as status of peace talks remains unclear – follow live
Trump is offering a very optimistic view of America’s negotiating positionpublished at 05:15 BST
Sarah Smith
North America editor
President Trump did not appear in front of any TV cameras or microphones on Monday. But that did not stopped him keeping us well informed as to how he is feeling about peace talks with Iran, scheduled to begin in Pakistan this week.
He posted a dozen times on his social media site, Truth Social, about the conflict with Iran, insisting he has the upper hand in any negotiations.
“I’m winning a War, BY A LOT, things are going very well,” he said in one post.
“The DEAL that we are making with Iran will be FAR BETTER than the JCPOA,” he said in another, referring to the deal President Obama struck in 2015.
He also insisted he is not in a hurry to do a deal – “I read the Fake News saying that I am under ‘pressure’ to make a Deal. THIS IS NOT TRUE! I am under no pressure whatsoever, although, it will all happen, relatively quickly!”
Trump did not offer much evidence or explanation of why he is so optimistic that a deal is in sight when it’s not even certain right now if the two sides will even meet for talks.
Other than to say – in another post – that the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is costing Iran $500m a day, which Trump says is destroying Iran.
Trump is also under economic pressure to get the strait opened and allow international shipping to resume. And there is little appetite among the American public to resume the war on Iran.
But in his posts that are untroubled by any inconvenient news or facts, Trump is offering a very optimistic view of America’s negotiating position.
