U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, April 21. EPA-Yonhap
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump has not set a firm deadline for Iran to submit a "unified" peace proposal, the White House said Wednesday, dismissing a report that he has given Iran three to five days to provide its coherent response.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made the remarks during a press availability, stressing that the president is "generously" offering "a bit of flexibility" to get a proposal from Iran, a country that she said grapples with "a lot of internal division."
"The president has not set a firm deadline to receive an Iranian proposal, unlike some of the reporting I've seen today," she said. "Ultimately, the timeline will be dictated by the commander-in-chief."
On the eve of the ceasefire deadline set for Wednesday (Washington time), Trump said that at the request of Pakistan, he will extend the ceasefire until Iran submits a unified proposal, and bilateral discussions are "concluded, one way or the other." He called the Tehran government "seriously fractured."
Trump's extension of the ceasefire was initially viewed by some as an indefinite one, but Axios reported, citing three U.S. officials, that the president is giving Iran a short window of several days to present its proposal to the United States.
Leavitt took note of internal division in Iran that has made it difficult for Tehran to put forward an integrated proposal.
"There is obviously a lot of internal division," she said. "This is a battle between the pragmatists and the hard-liners in Iran right now, and the president wants a unified response."
As the U.S. awaits an Iranian proposal, "Operation Economic Fury" as well as a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and vessels continue, she pointed out, referring to the Trump administration's campaign to put economic pressure on the Islamic Republic.
"We are completely strangling their economy through this blockade. They are losing US$500 million a day. The Kharg Island is completely full. They can't move oil in and out," she said, referring to Iran's crucial oil export hub.
Source: Korea Times News
