U.S. President Donald Trump gestures from the stairs of Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, April 24. AP-Yonhap
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran plans to make an offer aimed at meeting American demands, a report said, as key U.S. negotiators plan to depart for Pakistan this weekend to engage in direct talks with Iran.
During a phone interview with Reuters, Trump made the remarks without elaborating on the offer. His administration has sought to secure Iran's firm commitment not to seek a nuclear weapon and its pledge to hand over its enriched uranium stockpile, among others.
"They're making an offer and we'll have to see," Trump was quoted as saying.
Earlier this week, Trump extended a ceasefire with Iran until Tehran submits a "unified" peace proposal, as his administration believes that the Tehran government struggles with internal division between hard-liners and moderates, which has made it difficult to make a coherent response.
When asked who Washington was negotiating with, the president said that the U.S. is "dealing with the people that are in charge now."
Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, plan to head to Pakistan on Saturday to engage in talks mediated by Pakistan, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
However, Iran's state media reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has no scheduled meeting with the U.S. in Islamabad, Reuters reported. Araghchi has arrived in Pakistan as part of his multi-nation trip that will also take him to Muscat and Moscow.
"The Iranians want to talk. They want to talk in person. And the president is ... always willing to give diplomacy a chance. So Steve and Jared will be heading to Pakistan tomorrow to hear the Iranians out," Leavitt told reporters.
"We hope progress will be made, and we hope that positive developments will come from this meeting," she added.
Source: Korea Times News
