Speaking at the White House on Saturday, US President Donald Trump pushed back against Iran's threat to shut the Strait of Hormuz again, saying Tehran would not be allowed to blackmail Washington.
“They wanted to close up the strait again… as they've been doing for years,” Trump told reporters during an executive order signing in the Oval Office.
“They can't blackmail us.”
Trump, however, struck an optimistic tone on ongoing talks with Iran, saying Washington was continuing to engage with Tehran despite rising tensions in the Gulf.
“We have very good conversations going on. It's working out very well,” he said.
“They got a little cute, as they have been doing for 47 years.”
The US President added that Washington was taking a tough stand on Iran and indicated that more details on the situation could emerge later on Saturday.
“There will be some information by the end of the day,” Trump said, without elaborating further or taking additional questions on the conflict.
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Iran, meanwhile, said no date has yet been fixed for the next round of talks with Washington as both sides remain focused on agreeing to a framework before moving forward.
“Until we agree on the framework, we cannot set a date,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh told journalists on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey.
“We hope that as soon as we can finalise that, then we can move on to the next step.”
Khatibzadeh said Tehran wanted to avoid negotiations that could collapse and trigger another cycle of escalation.
“We do not want to enter into any negotiation or meeting that is destined to fail and could serve as a pretext for another round of escalation,” he said.
“I can assure you that Iran is very much committed to diplomacy.”
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Khatibzadeh also rejected US accusations that Iran was threatening freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
“Americans cannot impose their will to do a siege over Iran while Iran, with good intention, is trying to facilitate safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
He added that Iran had offered safe passage to commercial vessels during the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire period, provided ships coordinated in advance with Iranian maritime authorities.
“If ceasefire terms are violated and Americans do not honour their commitments, there will be repercussions for them,” Khatibzadeh said.
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