President Donald Trump departs the White House for Florida Friday. Trump spoke about Iran, saying he rejected the latest peace proposal. Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/UPI | License Photo
May 2 (UPI) — Iran on Saturday submitted a new proposal to end the war with the U.S. and Israel, which President Donald Trump said he plans to review.
An Iranian general said earlier Saturday that more fighting with the United States is “possible” after President Donald Trump the day before flatly rejected a previous peace plan offered by Iran.
The new plan was submitted to mediators in Pakistan as a fragile cease-fire holds amid Iran’s continued blockage of the Strait of Hormuz in response to the two-month-old war, Iranian state media PressTV and Tasnim reported.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has submitted its plan to Pakistan as mediator with the aim of permanently ending the imposed war, and not the ball is in the U.S. court to choose between a diplomatic solution or a continuation of the confrontational approach,” Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, said while meeting with foreign ambassadors.
Trump told reporters at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida that he was aware of the new proposal and would be reviewing it, CBS News reported.
“I haven’t seen it,” Trump told reporters. “I’m looking at it up here. I’ll let you know about it later … They told me about the concept of a deal. They’re going to give me the exact wording now.”
Trump, speaking at an event in West Palm Beach, Fla., said Friday that the United States is “better off” without making a peace agreement.
“Frankly, maybe we’re better off not making a deal at all. Do you want to know the truth? Because we can’t let this thing go on,” CNN reported he said. “Been going on too long.”
Trump had told CNN before leaving for Florida that he wasn’t satisfied with Iran’s latest peace offer.
Trump said he doesn’t think Iran can make a deal, saying, “They’ve made strides, but I’m not sure if they ever get there,” saying there is “tremendous discord” among Iranian leaders.
The president also said Friday that his options, as it relates to Iran, are making a deal or to “blast the hell out of them and finish them forever,” CNN reported.
Iran is holding to its plan to continue to control the Strait of Hormuz.
The comments prompted Iranian Brig. Gen. Mohammad Jafar Asadi, spokesman for Iran’s military headquarters, to cast doubt on the cease-fire and a quick end to the war.
“Evidence has shown that the United States is not committed to any promises or agreements,” Asadi said, adding that “surprise measures are planned for the enemy, beyond their imagination.”
President Donald Trump signs a series of executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday. Trump signed an order to expand workers’ access to retirement accounts. Trump also signed legislation ending a 75-day partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security after the House voted in favor of funding. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo
