US President Donald Trump said that “friendly negotiations” were going on between the United States and Iran.
“We’re beating the hell out of them. But we’ll see how it turns out. Right now, they have very friendly negotiations going on,” Trump said on Monday during his speech in Milford, Michigan.
Tehran is also asking Washington to lift its naval blockade, the president added.
Axios reported on Saturday, citing sources, that Trump ordered a halt to further strikes against Iran, pausing a 13-day streak of consecutive attacks. Earlier on Monday, the president said that Tehran had requested a meeting with Washington, adding that the United States could return to military action, if the deal fails.
Overnight into June 18, Tehran and Washington signed a memorandum to end the conflict that began on February 28. However, since July 8, US forces have carried out several series of strikes on Iran. The US Central Command claimed the strikes were in response to Iranian actions against commercial vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian forces responded with strikes on US bases in the Middle East.
On July 12, Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz until the end of US interference in the region, following another wave of exchanges of strikes between the parties to the conflict. The next day, Trump said the United States would become a “guardian” of the Strait of Hormuz. He also reinstated the US blockade of Iranian ports.
