In the last few hours, President Donald Trump said Iran is not ready to negotiate and needs more military
By Bernard Moerdler,
In the last few hours, President Donald Trump said Iran is not ready to negotiate and needs more military pressure, in remarks at the Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington. "They would like to do something, but I say they're not ready yet," Trump said. "They need more of the same." He said the United States is doing very well in the campaign.
Trump said the war has cost the lives of 18 American service members since it began in February. "We want to get it over with, and we want to do it right, but we have to do what we came to do," he said. "We can't let them have what they want, which is nuclear weapons."
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi is in Tehran carrying a proposal for a ceasefire between Iran and the United States, according to Iranian and Iraqi officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss national security matters publicly. Al-Zaidi met Trump in Washington earlier this month.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Iraqi leader had shared with Iranian officials his "insights and impressions" from that meeting. Araghchi said Tehran and Washington have no difficulty finding mediators. "The problem is America's attitude," he said.
The Kuwaiti army said the Abdali border crossing with Iraq was targeted repeatedly by hostile drones this evening, causing damage but no injuries. The military later said it was intercepting Iranian drones and missiles. Kuwait has come under repeated Iranian drone and ballistic missile attack during the conflict.
US Central Command said the naval blockade of Iranian ports has redirected 12 vessels since it was reimposed nine days ago, three of them in the past day. Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana said he believes the blockade can achieve US objectives without ground forces, saying Iran will soon run out of storage for oil it cannot sell.
Topics: Iran, Strait of Hormuz, Missile Defense & Alerts
Reported by Bernard Moerdler for Bernie News Network. See our editorial standards and corrections policy.