Trump keeps up claims of talks with ‘the right people’ in Iran

Speaking at the White House on Tuesday evening, Trump told reporters that the US, which joined Israel in attacking Iran at the end of last month, was talking to “the right people” to reach a deal, alluding to a “very big present” related to “oil and gas” having been gifted by Tehran.

But, as fighting continued, including continued Iranian attacks on Israel and a strike near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant, uncertainty swirled around Trump’s claims, which had already been dismissed as “fake news” by Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, on Monday.

Trump’s latest claims coincided with media reports that Washington had sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war. Israel’s Channel 12 cited sources saying the plan would include the end of Iran’s nuclear programme and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has throttled throughout the conflict.

Behind the scenes, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged that messages had been relayed by “friendly countries” indicating a “US request for negotiations”, according to the AFP news agency.

Negar Mortazavi, a senior non-resident fellow at the Center for International Policy, told Al Jazeera Iran would want to end the war imposed on it on its “own terms”.

“One is to establish enough deterrence to make sure that once this war ends, it doesn’t come back like it did last year,” Mortazavi said. “That they don’t turn into the next Gaza or Lebanon or Syria, or [Benjamin] Netanyahu, potentially with US support, can go in and mow the grass, again and again,” she added, referring to the Israeli prime minister.

In addition to establishing deterrence, Mortazavi said Iran would also need “some form of economic gain”.

“This chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz is now giving them ideas. ‘Maybe we can charge passage fees like some other places in the world’ – there are those discussions in Iran”, she said, also citing sanctions relief and reparations to rebuild the country after the heavy damage inflicted by the US and Israeli attacks.

Though Trump may be seeking a diplomatic off-ramp amid soaring energy prices and a teetering global economy, Israeli military spokesman Effie Defrin said his country’s war plan was “unchanged” and that it would continue “to deepen the damage and remove existential threats”.

And in the backdrop, the US itself appeared to be readying itself for more war, with media reports suggesting that it was expected to send thousands of soldiers from the army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, adding to the 50,000 US troops already in the region, and fuelling fears of a longer conflict.

In Iran, where Trump’s comments provoked a “state of confusion and ambiguity”, according to Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall, the atomic energy organisation said a strike on Tuesday evening hit inside the compound of its Bushehr nuclear power plant, but caused no damage.

In Israel, Iranian attacks on Tuesday wounded seven people, including an infant. Iran has kept up and indeed increased the pace of its launches, sending millions of Israelis into shelters multiple times a day. Recent failed interceptions have caused deaths and injuries.