President Donald Trump said he is unhappy with Iran’s latest proposal to end the conflict and cast doubt on Tehran’s ability to reach a negotiated agreement.
“They want to make a deal,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I am not satisfied with the latest proposal,” he added.
He did not specify what he found unacceptable in Iran’s latest document, but suggested that Iranian officials may never reach a final agreement on ending the conflict.
“They have made progress, but I’m not sure they will ever get to the finish line,” Trump said on the South Lawn, describing “extraordinary disagreements” within Iran’s leadership.
“The leadership is very unstable. There are two to three groups, maybe four, and it’s a very unstable leadership. And having said that, everyone wants to make a deal, but everyone is confused,” he said.
Trump stated that U.S. options regarding Iran come down to either a major military escalation or a negotiated settlement.
“There are options. Do we want to blow them up with force and destroy them completely? Or do we want to try to make a deal? Those are the options,” he said, adding that he had received a briefing on military options from U.S. Central Command the previous night.
He also stressed that he would prefer a diplomatic solution over renewed military action.
“On a humanitarian basis, I would prefer not to. But that is the option: do we want to go in there with force and just blow them up, or do we want to do something diplomatic?” Trump said.
