U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday (Aug. 17) that Tehran wants to reach an agreement with Washington but is unwilling to accept the kind of deal he considers necessary, as a 60-day negotiating period between the two sides came to an end.
"They want to make a deal, but they're not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary," Trump told reporters at the White House.
Trump offered no details on the state of the negotiations, reiterating that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon remained Washington's objective.
"You understand that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and they won't have a nuclear weapon," Trump said. "It's very simple. They can't have a nuclear war."
Trump also claimed that the United States had "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz through its naval blockade against all Iranian ports, repeatedly musing about making it a territory of the United States.
"We control it (the strait) with the blockade. And I like the idea of declaring it a territory," Trump said. "We have total control over the Strait now."
As for his earlier warning against Oman, which is reported to be working with Iran on a plan to open the strait and keep the waterway under the control of the two nations, Trump said: "I don't think they behaved very well, but we'd handle them very easily, just like we do others."
Trump's remarks came as a 60-day ceasefire between the United States and Iran ended Monday with both sides standing firm on their positions over Iran's nuclear program and the Strait of Hormuz.
(Source: Xinhua)
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