As peace talks between Tehran and Washington remain stalled and seem to be approaching a dead end, US President Donald Trump is again considering resuming the bombing campaign in Iran, three US officials familiar with the matter told Axios on Monday.
Back on Sunday, Trump had rejected Tehran’s latest terms as “totally unacceptable”, and called it “a bad proposal”, later saying that the ceasefire, which is now running into its second month, is “on massive life support.”
Trump was set to meet with his national security team on Monday to discuss the next steps, including a potential resumption of Project Freedom – the military operation by which the US military would guide commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, past the Iranian blockade – as well as restarting airstrikes and hitting the remaining 25 per cent of targets identified by the Pentagon but not yet struck.
As per a Washington Post report from last week, citing a CIA assessment, Iran, despite the massive bombing run, has retained most of its military inventory, with over 75 pc of its pre-war mobile launchers and 70 pc of its missiles intact, allowing it to withstand a US naval blockade for at least three to four months.
Trump had suddenly paused Project Freedom, putting a stop to the new military operation within just 24 hours of announcing it last week, following a request from Pakistan, which has been playing the role of the mediator in the conflict.
US media outlet NBC later reported that the president shelved the initiative after Saudi Arabia refused to allow the US to use its bases and airspace to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Sunday that the US was suffering from a lack of options, having “no alternative” but to accept Tehran’s terms.
“The longer they drag their feet, the more American taxpayers will pay for it,” he wrote on X. Iranian state media described Trump’s demand to shut down the country’s nuclear sites as “a non-starter that Iran has rejected for decades.”
According to Iran’s Press TV, the Islamic Republic’s conditions include lifting all the economic sanctions, war-time reparations, as well as a new framework governing the Strait of Hormuz that would fully recognise “Iran’s sovereign control over this vital waterway.”
