US President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that the United States could restart military strikes against Iran “if they misbehave”, while saying he was still waiting for the exact wording of an Iranian proposal to end the war.
Speaking before boarding a flight to Miami at West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said: “They told me about the concept of the deal. They’re going to give me the exact wording now.” He added on social media that he could not imagine the proposals would be acceptable and that Iran had not paid a big enough price for what it had done.
Asked if he might restart strikes on Iran, Trump replied: “I don’t want to say that. I mean, I can’t tell that to a reporter. If they misbehave, if they do something bad, right now we’ll see. But it’s a possibility that could happen.”
A senior Iranian official confirmed on Saturday that Tehran’s formal proposal already rejected by Trump would reopen shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and end the US blockade of Iran while leaving talks on the nuclear programme to a later stage. Reuters and other organisations reported over the past week that Tehran was proposing to reopen the strait before nuclear issues were resolved; the official confirmed the timeline had now been spelled out in a formal proposal conveyed through mediators.
Iran’s foreign minister said Tehran was ready for diplomacy if Washington changes its approach. Trump said on Friday that “on a human basis” he did not prefer the military course of action and told congressional leaders he did not need their permission to extend the war beyond a deadline set by law because the ceasefire had “terminated” hostilities.
Iranian media said Tehran’s 14-point proposal includes US troop withdrawals from areas around Iran, lifting the blockade, releasing frozen assets, payment of compensation, lifting sanctions, ending the war on all fronts including Lebanon, and a new control mechanism for the strait.
Trump remains under domestic pressure to break Iran’s hold on the strait, which has choked off about 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies and pushed up US gasoline prices ahead of November midterm congressional elections.
For Sri Lanka, the conditional threat keeps the shipping-cost premium baked into CPC fuel procurement and extends Brent above USD 110 a barrel, with no near-term path to lower import bills.
