Washington DC, June 14: United States President Donald Trump has on Thursday said Washington and Tehran are not prepared to strike an agreement to put an end to their longstanding dispute.
According to ANI news reports, Trump has also praised Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has offered to mediate a deal between the US and Iran.
In a tweet, the US president said, “While I very much appreciate PM Abe going to Iran to meet with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, I personally feel that it is too soon to even think about making a deal. They are not ready, and neither are we!”
While I very much appreciate P.M. Abe going to Iran to meet with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, I personally feel that it is too soon to even think about making a deal. They are not ready, and neither are we!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2019
Trump’s statement has come hours after the reports that two oil tankers were targeted and attacked in the Gulf of Oman, further raising tensions in the region.
Abe has completed his official two-day Iranian visit, becoming the first Japanese premier to pay a visit to Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Interacting with reporters, Abe has on Wednesday stated mediating to ease escalated tensions in the Middle East was “the one single thought that brought me to Iran”, as per Al-Jazeera news reports.
During a media briefing, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said, “The attack on two oil tankers on June 13 was one in a list of Iranian and Iranian-backed attacks over the last month. It was a clear threat to peace, security, and freedom of navigation.”
Pompeo added, “The US will defend its force, interests, partners, and allies. We call upon all nations threatened to join us in that endeavor.”
Relations between Tehran and Washington have soured since President Donald Trump pulled America out of the 2015 landmark international nuclear deal, the INF Treaty, last year, which aimed at curbing Iranian nuclear programme in return of sanction relief.
The US has stated it would continue to remain rooted to “impose maximum pressure” against Tehran until the region gives up its nuclear programme and “destabilizing ambitions” of expanding its nuclear sector.