White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was prepared to ‘unleash hell’ on Iran if Tehran did not come to the negotiation table
Top Iranian officials are reviewing proposals offered by the Trump administration to end the war, Iran’s foreign minister has said, but Tehran has “no intention” of holding direct talks with the US.
Abbas Araghchi said messages had been exchanged via mediators, but this “does not mean negotiations” with the US were ongoing.
He said Tehran had demanded a permanent end to the war and compensation for all destruction during the conflict.
Earlier, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump was prepared to “unleash hell” on Iran if Tehran did not come to the negotiation table.
“President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again”, she added.
The US has confirmed the deployment of troops to the Middle East after Iran reportedly sent back the “excessive” demands of Mr Trump’s peace plan.
The Pentagon confirmed to The Independent on Wednesday that some elements of the 82nd Airborne Division, some division enablers and the 1st Brigade Combat Team would be deploying to the region.
PICTURED: IDF soldiers rest on a tank near the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon
CENTCOM gives update on 'Operation Epic Fury'
US Central Command shared an update Wednesday on it’s miilitary campaign against Iran, which it has dubbed “Operation Epic Fury.”
The war began more than three weeks ago. Here are some fast facts about the US military’s actions in the region:
- US forces struck more than 10,000 military targets.
- The military destroyed 92 percent of the Iranian Navy’s largest vessels.
- Iran’s drone and missile launch rates are down by more than 90 percent.
- US forces damaged or destroyed over two-thirds of Iran’s missile, drone and naval production facilities and shipyards.
Benjamin Netanyahu's adviser skeptical about Iran wanting peace deal
Ophir Falk, foreign policy adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, remains skeptical about Iran wanting a peace deal.
“Well, Iran always lies. We’ve learned that they always lie,” Falk told CNN.
Iran’s foreign minister said on state-run TV that Tehran has “no intention” of holding direct talks with the US.
Abbas Araghchi said while messages had been exchanged through mediators, it “does not mean negotiations” with the US were ongoing.
WATCH: Starmer promises to go 'further and faster' on renewable energy amid Iran conflict
Trump says high oil prices ‘didn’t matter’ in decision to strike Iran
US President Donald Trump has said high oil prices “didn’t matter” to him in the decision to begin striking Iran more than three weeks ago.
“I thought it would be much worse. I thought that the energy prices, oil prices would go up higher. I thought the stock market would go somewhat lower, but it didn't matter to me.
“Short term, what we had to do is get rid of the cancer. We had to cut out the cancer. The cancer was Iran with a nuclear weapon, and we've cut it out”, Trump said during a speech Wednesday night local time.
ANALYSIS: Iran is the winner as Trump’s desperate bid for peace shows he wants out of the war
Determined to humiliate US President Donald Trump’s efforts to extract his country from a war he started, Tehran launched waves of attacks across the Arabian Gulf and sneered at his peaceful overtures.
No matter that a 15-point plan has been put forward by the US and Pakistan has said it hopes to host direct talks between the US and Iran sometime this week, Iran’s securocrats have seen an opportunity. Trump wants to get out of the conflict that Israel does not believe has achieved its aims.
Iran’s regime has fomented instability across the Middle East for decades. It has killed Americans and many other Westerners, run Hezbollah in Lebanon, and backed Hamas in Gaza.
And yet the global perspective is that the war, which is already hobbling global fuel supplies and will have far greater economic consequences, is all the fault of America and Israel.
Read more from Sam Kiley...
Iran’s the clear winner as Trump’s desperate bid for peace shows he wants out of war
Trump says US is 'decimating' Iran
President Donald Trump said during a speech Wednesday night local time the US is “decimating” Iran.
“They've got no Navy, they've got no anything”, Trump said.
Lebanon 'must be included in truce deal', says Tehran
Iran has told intermediaries that Lebanon must be included in any ceasefire agreement with the United States and Israel, sources have said, linking an end of the war with a halt to Israel's offensive on Hezbollah.
Iran's Press TV cited an Iranian official as saying Tehran wanted any deal to secure an end to the war both on Iran and other "resistance groups" in the region.
The six regional sources said Tehran had informed mediators as early as mid-March that it sought a deal that would also stop Israel's attacks on Hezbollah.
The Lebanese armed group opened fire on Israel on March 2 in solidarity with Tehran, triggering an Israeli air and ground campaign in Lebanon.
Trump: Iran wants to 'make a deal so badly'
Donald Trump has said that Iran wants to make a deal “so badly” but fears being killed by their own people and by the United States.
“We settled eight wars people sort of forget, and we're winning another one. I tell you, we're winning so big. Nobody has ever seen anything like we're doing in the Middle East with Iran.
“And they are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they're afraid to say it, because they figure they'll be killed by their own people.
“They're also afraid they'll be killed by us.There's never been head of a country that wanted that job less than being the head of Iran.”
He went on that nobody wants to be the supreme leader of Iran.
“I don't want it.”
White House’s Leavitt testily denies existence of 15-point Iran ceasefire plan that Trump touted just days ago
White House denies existence of 15-point Iran ceasefire plan touted by Trump days ago
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