(Picture: AFP)
Donald Trump has hinted at a mystery gift presented to him by an Iranian peace delegation as he threatens to send much more troops to the Middle East.
Around 3,000 troops from ‘The All American’, Fort Bragg-based brigade are said to be able to be mobilised because the US President pushes Tehran to capitulate and end the war.
Asked if he trusts the Iranians, Trump said he doesn’t trust anybody but alluded to receiving a ‘gift’ that he said suggested ‘we’re coping with the proper people.’
‘They gave us a gift, and the current arrived today,’ Trump said speaking on the White House on Tuesday.
‘It was a really big present price an amazing sum of money. And I’m not going to let you know what that present is, but it surely was a really significant prize.’
Pressed for more detail, Trump said it was ‘oil- and gas-related’ but went no further.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to an internet
browser that
supports HTML5
video
‘It was a really nice thing they did. But what it showed me is that we’re coping with the proper people.’
Trump told reporters Iran wants ‘to make a deal,’ and he claimed his team held talks with an Iranian leader.
He didn’t say who that was, but said the US has not talked to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, whose whereabouts are still unknown after a strike that killed his family triggered the war.
Since then, greater than 2,000 people have been killed, the worldwide economy has gone haywire, sending oil prices surging with missile strikes erupting all around the Middle East.
Iran has denied talks had been held. ‘No negotiations have been held with the US,’ Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf posted on X, adding that ‘fake news is used to govern the financial and oil markets.”
Trump threatened over the weekend to ‘obliterate’ Iran’s power plants unless the country releases its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all traded oil passed before the war, inside 48 hours.
Iran has insisted that ‘secure passage’ within the Strait of Hormuz is feasible for non-enemies. Vessels with ties to China, India and Pakistan are amongst people who have already passed through.
Trump’s approval rating fell in recent days to its lowest point since he returned to the White House in response to his handling of the Iran war.
Americans’ views on Trump soured significantly with regard to his stewardship over the fee of living, as gasoline prices surgedand his promise to avoid ‘silly wars’. The survey found 35% of Americans approve of the US strikes on Iran.
Iran can only muster 10 missiles a day
Israeli army spokesman Effie Defrin said in a televised statement that Iran fired dozens of missiles on Israel within the war’s first and second days but this number ‘dropped quickly’.
He attributed that to Israel’s continued strikes on military headquarters, launch sites and missile production sites across Iran.
Although the quantity of missiles has decreased, Iran has kept up and indeed increased the pace of its launches, sending tens of millions of Israelis into shelters multiple times a day, with failed interceptions causing deaths and injuries.
Now, Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif says his country is able to ‘facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks’ to finish the Iran war.
‘Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the continued conflict,’ Sharif wrote on X.
MORE: Motorists within the UK warned to not drive slower over Iran oil crisis fears
MORE: Gas prices skyrocket again after mystery explosion at Texas refinery
MORE: ‘King Charles standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Jewish community after horror of Golders Green’