All posts tagged: Donald J

Trump’s Pressure Had Little Effect on Iran’s Terms for a Peace Deal

Trump’s Pressure Had Little Effect on Iran’s Terms for a Peace Deal

Published by Sam Flores

Since President Trump announced a cease-fire with Iran in April, he has sought to force Tehran to accept his terms for a peace deal with a mixture of threats and limited military operations. But more than a month later, the contours of a deal emerging this week to end the war reflected how Mr. Trump’s pressure campaign does not appear to have decisively shifted Iran’s stance on its nuclear program. The impending deal could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway for oil and gas, which Iran has blockaded since the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran began the war in late February. But it may delay big decisions on other thorny issues until later. The Strait of Hormuz was already supposed to be open at this point. Free passage had been Mr. Trump’s condition for pausing the war in April. U.S. officials hoped that if ships again flowed freely, surging gas prices would fall, domestic rancor over the war would calm down and Iran would have less leverage in the talks. But Iranian forces have …

As Delegations Gather in Qatar For Talks, U.S. Strikes Iran’s Gulf Coast

As Delegations Gather in Qatar For Talks, U.S. Strikes Iran’s Gulf Coast

Published by Sam Flores

The United States and Iran on Monday both played down hopes of an imminent breakthrough toward ending the war, although peace talks appeared to continue. The two countries are working toward a deal that would wind down the war in the Middle East by reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas shipments that Iran has effectively blockaded. But on Monday night, American officials said U.S. forces had struck missile launch sites in Iran and boats trying to emplace mines. U.S. Central Command characterized the strikes as defensive and said they were meant “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.” And much remains uncertain about the agreement itself. One of the key questions is around Iran’s nuclear program. On that issue, and others, American and Iranian officials have presented contrasting descriptions of the emerging agreement, leading to doubts about whether the deal could be finalized. “We have reached conclusions on a large portion of the issues, but no one can claim that the signing of an agreement is …

These Are 5 of the Main Issues to Be Resolved in an Iran-U.S. Peace Deal

These Are 5 of the Main Issues to Be Resolved in an Iran-U.S. Peace Deal

Published by Sam Flores

The United States and Iran have signaled that they are moving closer to a deal to end the war in the Middle East. But neither country has released a copy of the possible deal and as of Sunday afternoon, it remained unclear exactly what they had agreed to — or if they had agreed to much at all. In interviews, American and Iranian officials described basic elements of a deal differently. Notably, they portrayed discussions about the future of the nuclear program — and Iran’s existing stockpiles of highly enriched uranium — in divergent terms. Here are five of the main issues at stake, and the positions each side has revealed at this point. 1. Iran’s Nuclear Program President Trump has repeatedly said Iran must give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which the United States and Israel fear could be used to build a nuclear weapon. Iran has resisted. One big question is what Iran would do with its existing stockpile of enriched uranium. It has about 970 pounds of uranium enriched to …

Senate Republicans Cast Doubt on a Potential Peace Deal With Iran

Senate Republicans Cast Doubt on a Potential Peace Deal With Iran

Published by Sam Flores

Senate Republicans cast doubt on the viability of a potential peace deal between the United States and Iran over the weekend as President Trump doubled down in support of his administration’s negotiations to end the nearly three-month-old war. U.S. and Iranian officials have described an emerging framework that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and in which, U.S. officials say, Iran would commit to disposing of its highly enriched uranium. Iranian officials have also said that nuclear matters would be negotiated within 30 to 60 days. “It doesn’t make too much sense to me,” Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina, said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Mr. Tillis called the Iranians’ commitment to reopening the Strait of Hormuz “questionable” without a finalized peace deal, adding that “there are a lot of things that need to be explained.” On Saturday, Senator Roger Wicker, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote on social media that a “60-day ceasefire — with the belief that Iran will ever engage in good faith — would …

Fate of War in Lebanon Rests Mostly With Outside Powers

Fate of War in Lebanon Rests Mostly With Outside Powers

Published by Sam Flores

A day after President Trump announced a potential deal with Iran, Lebanon found itself in a familiar position — waiting on outside powers to determine whether the latest war to devastate the country was drawing to an end. After Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group, fired on Israel in March in solidarity with its patron, the country was dragged into a conflict that has killed more than 3,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. A U.S.-brokered cease-fire took effect on April 17, but Israel and Hezbollah have continued to clash, with each side accusing the other of violating the truce. The fighting has escalated in recent weeks, exposing the limits of the cease-fire and stoking fears that the conflict could turn into yet another full-blown war. On Sunday, Lebanon hoped that the agreement announced by Mr. Trump could bring a degree of calm after months of intense upheaval. While the terms of the agreement are murky, three senior Iranian officials told The New York Times that it would halt the fighting on all fronts, including …

Do U.S. Automakers Have a Future in Canada?

Do U.S. Automakers Have a Future in Canada?

Published by Sam Flores

When General Motors of Canada underwent a model changeover in 1999 at its sprawling factory complex in Oshawa, Ontario, the last Chevrolet Lumina to come off the line went on a monthlong farewell tour. It was wheeled around the factory, and employees signed their names in permanent marker on its white paint. No one at the Canadian Automotive Museum in Oshawa, where the Lumina is now displayed, has counted the signatures. But in 1999, roughly 22,000 unionized G.M. employees could have taken a pen to the car. G.M.’s dominance of Oshawa, east of Toronto, for nearly a century was part of the giant footprint U.S. automakers long enjoyed in Canada — a presence that has gone into a steep, accelerating retreat as President Trump wages economic war against Canada. Across the river from Detroit, Chrysler, now part of Stellantis, once economically ruled the city of Windsor, Ontario, from its assembly plant. And Oakville, Ontario, part of the Toronto metro area, was practically a Ford company town, with two giant plants and corporate offices. At the …

Iranian Officials Say Proposed Peace Deal Would Open Strait of Hormuz

Iranian Officials Say Proposed Peace Deal Would Open Strait of Hormuz

Published by Sam Flores

“Our military forces have made the best possible use of the cease-fire period to rebuild their capabilities,” Gen. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament who has been leading negotiations with the United States, said in an audio address to the nation earlier this month. “We will make the enemy regret any renewed aggression against Iran.” At the same time, Iranian officials courted regional mediators, signaling that they would be open to resolving the standoff diplomatically to avert the resumption of war. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke to European and regional counterparts and the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, seeking to defuse tensions, according to readouts by Iran’s foreign ministry. Iran also hosted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan and its top army chief, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, who met with Iran’s political and military leadership and pushed for Tehran to agree to a proposed agreement. “The Iranians have shown that Trump can achieve less through threats and coercion than through diplomacy,” said Omid Memarian, a senior a senior analyst at DAWN, …

Many Questions, Few Details in Latest Iran Peace Proposal

Many Questions, Few Details in Latest Iran Peace Proposal

Published by Sam Flores

Eleven weeks ago President Trump said the outcome of the Iran war would be simple. “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” he wrote on social media. The White House issued a clarifying statement hours later, saying that even if no one in Tehran submitted a formal surrender, Mr. Trump would declare when the country had essentially given up, or, as Mr. Trump put it, cried “uncle.” It is too early to tell what exactly Mr. Trump and Iran have agreed to, or if they have agreed to much at all. The president wrote in a Truth Social post that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen under some kind of memorandum of understanding. Two U.S. officials with knowledge of the negotiations said on Saturday that Iran has agreed in principle to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. But the Iranians have not publicly confirmed that, and much hinges on the details of how that would be accomplished. In 2015, without resorting to war, Iran shipped about 97 percent of its …

Iran Agreed to Give Up Enriched Uranium in Deal Announced by Trump, U.S. Officials Say

Iran Agreed to Give Up Enriched Uranium in Deal Announced by Trump, U.S. Officials Say

Published by Sam Flores

One key element of the proposed agreement between Iran and the United States is an apparent commitment by Tehran to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, according to two U.S. officials. White House officials did not return requests for comment. President Trump said on Saturday that the United States was close to reaching an agreement with Iran toward ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. But he provided no details, and it was not clear what hurdles might remain to closing a deal. U.S. officials said that the proposal did not settle the issue of precisely how Iran would give up its stockpile, putting off the details for a coming round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program. But a general statement that Iran will commit to doing so, a longtime goal of the United States, is critical to the deal — especially if the overall agreement is greeted with skepticism by Republicans on Capitol Hill. Iran has made no public statements on the agreement that Mr. Trump announced. Iran originally balked …

Britain Preparing for Mission That Could Clear Strait of Hormuz

Britain Preparing for Mission That Could Clear Strait of Hormuz

Published by Sam Flores

President Trump has fumed repeatedly about Britain’s failing to help the U.S. wage war on Iran. The United Kingdom responded by allowing U.S. bombers to strike Iran from southern England, while Britain’s fighter jets have flown thousands of defensive missions across the region. Now the British military is embarking on yet another phase: to secure the Strait of Hormuz if the war comes to an end, dispatching an advanced destroyer to the region and another ship armed with autonomous mine-hunting equipment. The move to remove mines from the waterway could also serve to deflect further criticism from Mr. Trump. The war with Iran was not Britain’s making, but the country cannot escape the conflict’s far-reaching effects. Halted traffic in the strait has crippled international shipping and driven up energy prices in the United States and around the world. The British military took a handful of reporters on Friday to Gibraltar, a small patch of British territory at the tip of Spain. The trip seemed like an effort to highlight its military capabilities and resolve, and …