Iran Says It Won't Negotiate With 'Erratic' Trump

(MENAFN- Asia Times) Iran says it has no plans to negotiate with the US after President Donald Trump threatened Sunday that“the whole country is going to get blown up” if Iran refuses to make a deal.

There are conflicting reports on what Trump subsequently described as an attack on an Iranian ship. This development is a breaking news story. As the Times of India reported:

Trump earlier Sunday claimed that Iranian officials were heading to Islamabad for another round of talks Monday with Vice President JD Vance, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

But Iran's official IRNA news agency later reported that claims Iran was coming to negotiate were“not true” and described the announcement as“a media game and part of the blame game to pressure Iran.”

The Tasnim News Agency, which is linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reiterated the government's previous position that it would not negotiate unless Trump lifts his blockade of Iranian ports, which Tehran considers a violation of the ceasefire between the US and Iran.

After Trump said the blockade would continue, Iran again shut down travel through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, following a brief reopening Friday following the announcement of a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel.

IRNA added that negotiators decided not to return because of“Washington's excessive demands, unrealistic expectations, constant shifts in stance, repeated contradictions, and the ongoing naval blockade.”

An unnamed Iranian official familiar with Tehran's internal deliberations told Drop Site News on Sunday that Tehran is prepared for a long war.

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He said negotiators would prefer to make a deal with the US that would give Iran the right to enrich uranium, provide sanctions relief, and establish a long-term non-aggression framework.

But the official said Trump's erratic behavior and maximalist demands-including that Iran surrender all its enriched uranium-are causing Iranian officials to sour on the idea that he could ever be a trustworthy negotiating partner.

“Our assessment is that Trump effectively lacks both a coherent plan and the capacity to secure even a temporary agreement,” the official said.“His decision-making appears to be grounded in Israeli political and security assessments, conveyed to him on a daily basis.”

Trump has expressed a desire to find an off-ramp from the war, which has caused economic upheaval and further tanked his already grim approval rating.

But he has also stood by Israel as it has repeatedly undermined negotiations by continuing its attacks on Lebanon, including after a 10-day ceasefire that began Friday. Iran has portrayed ending these attacks as key to a durable ceasefire agreement with the US.

The official said that during the previous round of talks in Islamabad, which resulted in a two-week ceasefire earlier this month, Iran“clearly stated” to Vance that“public threats” like the one Trump issued to wipe out all of“Iranian civilization” would not be tolerated again.

Even before Trump made more such threats Sunday morning, Iran had not yet agreed to another round of talks. The official said that Iranian negotiators are still open to further discussions, but added that they“need to be meaningful, and their framework should be defined in advance.”

“The Islamabad negotiations provided President Trump with an appropriate opportunity to exit the war,” the official added.“Should [Trump] nevertheless choose to continue the conflict, Iran will, for a prolonged period, suspend diplomatic channels and will seek, within the context of the conflict, to impose significantly greater costs on United States interests.”

Mohammed Sani, a political analyst based in Tehran, told Drop Site News that Iran appears prepared to inflict more pain on the US should Trump choose violence.

“We see that the Americans have been bringing in more troops and equipment to prepare to attack, but the Iranians have also not been resting during these two weeks of ceasefire,” he said.“They have been preparing, repairing the underground missile cities, bringing in new air defenses, missiles, and drones. Iran is at a high standard of readiness right now. If there is another round of negotiations sometime later in the future, after another round of American attacks against Iran fail, the Iranian conditions for peace will be much tougher.”

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Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said Sunday that Trump's apparent belief that he can use threats of mass violence to bully Iran into a favorable deal is pushing Tehran further from the negotiating table.

“Due to poor discipline, Trump ends up prioritizing the optics of victory over actually getting a deal,” Parsi said.“Instead of using deescalatory signals from Iran to get closer to a deal, he declares victory and seeks Iran's humiliation, and by that, he undermines his own diplomacy.”

-Common Dreams

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