US President Donald Trump called Iranian negotiators “different and strange,” urging them to “get serious” about the US peace proposal on Thursday.
“The Iranian negotiators are very different and ‘strange.’ They are ‘begging’ us to make a deal, which they should be doing since they have been militarily obliterated, with zero chance of a comeback, and yet they publicly state that they are only ‘looking at our proposal,’” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He urged them to “get serious soon, before it is too late,” as there will be “NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t be pretty!”
The US has reportedly sent Iran a 15-point plan, outlining steps on Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as well as maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran rejected the proposal, saying any ceasefire would occur on its terms and timeline, and outlined five conditions for ending the war, including a complete halt to “aggression and assassinations.”
Earlier on Thursday, Trump said that NATO allies have done “absolutely nothing” to help with the “lunatic nation, now militarily decimated,” of Iran.
“The USA needs nothing from NATO, but ‘never forget’ this very important point in time,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
In recent days, Trump has urged both allies and rivals, including China, to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, a vital trade route, as disruptions there have driven up global oil prices.
A number of European countries declined, saying the Iran conflict was a war started by Trump without consulting with US allies.
Trump previously reiterated that the US does not need NATO, calling the alliance’s stance a “very foolish mistake.” He said he is not currently planning to withdraw from the alliance but suggested it is an option worth considering.
Trump has long denigrated NATO, and during his first term – according to multiple White House accounts – he openly considered withdrawing from the postwar Western alliance. – AA