Hi Bandung – President Donald Trump decided to postpone plans for further attacks on Iran after receiving requests from a number of Gulf Arab countries.
Trump announced this decision via a post on social media on Monday local time.
Trump said this step was taken because the negotiation process between the relevant parties was still intensive.
According to him, the leaders of the Gulf countries believe that the opportunity to reach a peace agreement is still open and the results can be accepted by the United States and other Middle Eastern countries.
Even though he chose to postpone military operations, Trump emphasized that he would still instruct the US military to be prepared to launch a major attack at any time if negotiations did not produce the expected agreement.
Previously, Trump was also known to have set deadlines for Tehran several times before finally delaying military action again.
Iran Calls US Demands Difficult to Accept
In his statement, Trump also revealed that Washington had previously decided to continue military operations with Israel against Iran since the end of February.
This policy drew international criticism because it was considered an aggressive step that triggered regional tensions.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baghaei, assessed that the United States’ demands were still too heavy and were the main obstacle in the negotiation process.
Iran is asking for an end to the war, the return of all frozen state assets, and recognition of its sovereignty in the Strait of Hormuz.
On the other hand, the US government is said to be only willing to consider returning some of Iran’s assets.
Ongoing tensions in the Middle East region also have an impact on global energy markets, including rising fuel prices which are starting to put political pressure on the Republican Party ahead of the United States mid-term elections. ***
Source: Morning Star
