News
08/04/26
Trump defends concessions to Iran: Update
Updates with details throughout Washington, 8 April (Argus) — US president
Donald Trump on Wednesday said his decision to allow Iran to at least
temporarily maintain control over the strait of Hormuz and to discuss full
sanctions relief for Tehran was a "big day for World Peace". The US and Iran
late on Tuesday Washington time announced a two-week ceasefire, during which the
two countries will hold negotiations to finalize a peace agreement. The two
countries' starting negotiating positions are far apart. But Trump confirmed at
least one point demanded by Iran, relating to its chokehold on navigation
through Hormuz. "For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the strait of
Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran's armed forces and with due
consideration of technical limitations," Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi
said on Tuesday. Trump reposted the statement in full. Vessel traffic through
the strait of Hormuz has yet to rise since the US and Iran announced a two-week
ceasefire, as shipowners wait for clarity on security arrangements and insurance
cover for transits. Additional war risk premiums for transits through the
Mideast Gulf, the strait of Hormuz and the Red sea are not expected to ease
immediately despite a ceasefire announcement, market participants said. And
energy infrastructure in Iran and the Mideast Gulf states remained under attack
in the hours after the ceasefire was announced. Rather than clarify questions
over the status of the strait of Hormuz, Trump's statements only added to the
confusion. On Wednesday morning, Trump asserted that there will be a "joint
control" over the strait and that the US "will be helping with the traffic
buildup in the strait of Hormuz". US vice president JD Vance, who could
potentially lead the US negotiations with Iran, on Wednesday called the
ceasefire "fragile", asserting that there are elements in the Iranian leadership
who might be opposing talks with the US by misrepresenting the peace proposals
under discussion. "You have people who clearly want to come to the negotiating
table and work with us to find a good deal, and then you have people who are
lying about even the fragile truce that we've already struck," Vance said in
remarks in Budapest. Vance could potentially travel to Islamabad, Pakistan, for
high-level talks with an Iranian delegation, "but nothing is final until
announced by" Trump, the White House said on Wednesday. Iran's supreme national
security council on Tuesday outlined a 10-point peace proposal, which included
enshrining its control over Hormuz, lifting all sanctions on Iran, accepting of
its right to nuclear enrichment, withdrawing of all US forces from the region
and ending Israel's incursion into Lebanon. Trump in a rambling social media
post on Tuesday evening lashed out at CNN for reporting details of Iran's
10-point plan as described by Tehran. Trump, in a social media post on
Wednesday, added another denunciation of the references to details of Iran's
10-point proposal, which he said were circulated by "Fraudsters, Charlatans, and
WORSE". There was only "one group of meaningful 'POINTS' that are acceptable to
the United States, and we will be discussing them behind closed doors during
these Negotiations," Trump said. But in an earlier Wednesday social media post,
Trump acknowledged at least one other point demanded by Iran: "We are, and will
be, talking Tariff and Sanctions relief with Iran," Trump said. The US has a
15-point counter-proposal, with provisions directly contravening the Iranian
position, including over its nuclear program. Trump's hawkish anti-Iran
loyalists in Congress appeared to be confused by his willingness to discuss
Iranian demands that his predecessors previously refused to even consider.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), who defended Trump's decision to go
to war with Iran without Congress' approval, said on Tuesday that Congress will
need to have a say in any peace agreement Trump signs with Iran. Trump on
Wednesday also threatened a 50pc tariff against any country that supplies Iran
with weapons, even though the US Supreme Court has curtailed his ability to
impose tariffs at will. Pentagon officials on Wednesday morning described the US
operation as overwhelmingly successful and asserted that the US had forced Iran
to capitulate. "Iran begged for this ceasefire and we all know it," defense
secretary Pete Hegseth said. "We congratulate all the people of Iran on this
victory," Iran's supreme national security council said on Tuesday. By Haik
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