The President of the USA Donald Trump said the United States has done Pakistan a ‘favor’ by agreeing to a ceasefire with Iran.
“We did the ceasefire as a request from another nation. I would have really benefited from it, but we did it as a favor to Pakistan. They are wonderful people, the Field Marshal and the Prime Minister,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he returned from China to the US.
The US-Israeli war against Iran began on February 28 and attacks have ceased since April 8, when the warring parties agreed to a ceasefire brokered by Pakistan.
Trump reiterated his determination to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons and to force them to give up the enriched uranium Tehran has accumulated over the years.
He said Iranian negotiators were claiming that their nuclear facilities were damaged in US airstrikes and that they were unable to obtain the nuclear fuel.
“They came up with a terrible secret. They said they can’t remove it because they don’t have the technology to remove it. They don’t have the time and the practice,” Trump said in response to questions on Iran.
Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping was also in favor of opening the Strait of Hormuz, which is a major trade route for 20 percent of global oil supplies.
US Vice President JD Vance led a team of negotiators for the first direct face-to-face talks with Iranian leaders in Islamabad on April 11-12, which plunged the warring countries into protracted negotiations to end decades-long hostilities.
The US has insisted that Iran make a clear commitment to end its uranium enrichment program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions and the release of billions in frozen Iranian funds.
(With PTI Login)
