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WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump went on a media tear on April 17, granting interviews and unleashing a flurry of social media posts that framed peace talks with Iran as all but complete.
After an announcement by Iran’s foreign minister that the Strait of Hormuz had been reopened, Mr Trump made a series of optimistic posts on his social media platform, Truth Social.
He also spoke to several news outlets, asserting that Iran agreed to many demands and predicting a quick resolution to the conflict.
Iranian officials did not confirm most of Mr Trump’s claims and disputed several of them.
Mr Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s top negotiator and the speaker of its Parliament, said on social media late on April 17 that Mr Trump made seven claims in one hour, all of which were false.
It was not immediately clear which claims he was referring to, but Mr Ghalibaf said the United States would not make progress in negotiations with what he described as lies.
Mr Trump has made exaggerated and outlandish claims related to the war since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Feb 28.
He has threatened to wipe out Iranian civilisation, attacked the Pope for criticising the violence and offered seemingly contradictory visions of how the war might unfold.
The president’s remarks could shape the narrative around the peace talks in a conflict that has jolted the world economy and damaged his popularity at home.
Mr Trump said on April 17 that Iran, with the help of the US, was removing all of the mines it laid in the Strait of Hormuz in March.
He also claimed that the “Hormuz Strait situation is over”, and “Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again”.
Iran has made no such commitment, and its foreign minister, Mr Seyed Abbas Araqchi, only went so far as to announce that the vital oil route would be open “for the remaining period of ceasefire” for ships that adhered to a route “coordinated” by Iran.
Later, the ministry’s spokesman, Mr Esmail Baghaei, said the strait remained under Iran’s supervision.
Mr Ghalibaf, Iran’s top negotiator, also chimed in on social media, saying the strait would not remain open if the US military continues its blockade of Iranian ports.
Earlier, Mr Trump said the US blockade would only end when the US reaches a peace deal with Iran.
Mr Trump also claimed in a phone interview with CBS that Iran “agreed to everything”, including working with the US to remove its enriched uranium.
But in comments made to Iranian state media later that day, Mr Baghaei said Tehran rejected the option of transferring its enriched uranium stockpile abroad.
On April 17, Mr Trump told Agence France-Presse that there were “no sticking points” left for a peace deal with Iran.
The White House has not confirmed any details of a plan. In a brief phone interview with Axios, Mr Trump said he expected a deal “in the next day or two”.
Amid the barrage of social media posts, the president painted himself as a peacemaker maligned by traditional news media.
“They are desperately looking for a reason to criticise President Donald J. Trump on the Iran situation, but just can’t find it,” he said. “Why don’t they just say, at the right time, JOB WELL DONE, MR. PRESIDENT.” NYTIMES