Trump says he threw away Iran’s new peace proposal after reading first ‘unacceptable’ sentence

WASHINGTON, DC: After weeks of rising hopes for progress, the brutal 10-week conflict between the US and Iran has once again drifted into deadlock, breaking expectations of a breakthrough anytime soon.

President Donald Trump, on Friday, May 15, confirmed that he has rejected Iran’s new peace proposal, claiming he threw it away after just reading the first sentence, which he deemed to be ‘unacceptable.’

Trump’s rejection came on the heels of Israel and Lebanon agreeing to extend a fraught ceasefire for another 45 days after talks in Washington concluded.

Trump says Iran rejected ‘no nuclear’ deal

The 79-year-old president was aboard Air Force One while returning to the US from his three-day state visit to China, when questions about the escalating conflict with Iran came up.

"Have you rejected the latest proposal from Iran, or where does that stand?" one reporter asked.

Trump replied he had “looked at” Tehran’s response to a peace plan drawn up by Washington, but “if I don’t like the first sentence, I just throw it away”.

Trump later revealed that his decision to reject Iran’s latest proposal came down to one explosive word: “nuclear.”

"An unacceptable sentence, because they have fully agreed no nuclear and so if they have any nuclear in any form, I don't read the rest," he maintained.

The president later spoke about his push to send US forces into Iran to recover what he described as the remaining “nuclear dust” left after American strikes allegedly “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities in June last year.

He then made an apparent U-turn on his earlier demand that Iran permanently shut down its nuclear activities, claiming that he would accept a 20-year suspension of the uranium enrichment at the heart of Iran’s rogue nuclear program if Tehran gave a “real” guarantee.

Trump didn't ask for favors from China

While Trump sticks to his old demands, he claimed that his patience with Iran was running out and that Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed that Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

He also highlighted that he was weighing whether to lift US sanctions on Chinese oil companies purchasing Iranian crude. But maintained that he didn't ask for any favors from China.

“I’m not asking for any favors because, when you ask for favors, you have to do favors in return,” Trump told reporters when asked whether Xi had firmly committed to pressuring Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil shipments.

Xi himself did not publicly discuss Iran following the meetings. However, China’s foreign ministry issued a sharply worded statement expressing frustration over the continuing conflict.

“This conflict, which should never have happened, has no reason to continue,” the ministry said.