By EFE
US President Donald Trump stated that Iran has not yet accepted an agreement to end the war because its leaders are “strong” and “proud,” although he assured that eventually “They have no choice” but to negotiate with Washingtonaccording to an interview given to NBCNews.
“They are strong, proud, there are things they never thought they would do and that they will have to do. They have no choice, and it takes a while,” Trump told the journalist. Kristen Welkerwhen referring to the conversations between both countries.
According to NBC News, the president defended the pace of the negotiations and rejected criticism from those demanding a quick solution to the conflict, which this week entered into its fourth month of war.
Trump defends negotiations with Iran
Trump compared the situation to vietnam war and maintained that resolving a confrontation of this magnitude requires time.
Furthermore, he reiterated that The United States has destroyed much of Iran’s military capacityincluding drone factories, launch pads and missile production centers.
However, he assured that Tehran still retains part of its military arsenalwhich he estimated between 21% and 22% of its usual capacity.
Iran demands access to frozen funds
For his part, a senior official of the Islamic Republic of Iran declared to cnn that any agreement with Washington will depend on the Trump administration authorizing the release of $24 billion in frozen Iranian funds.
“If he (Trump) wants to reach an agreement with Iran, this $24 billion is a test of the trust that Iran wants to have with Trump; this is a test that the United States must overcome and the way will be opened,” the official said.
United States and Iran They have exchanged drafts of a possible peace agreement through Pakistani mediators for weeks. However, both parties maintain contradictory positions on the status of the talks: while Tehran maintains that they are deadlockedTrump insists that negotiations continue to advance and has even suggested that a deal could be announced over the weekend.
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