US strikes Iran as Trump faces backlash over ‘disastrous’ peace deal plan - The Latest
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What recent actions has the US taken against Iran?
This is The Guardian.
I think we are probably within 24 hours of an agreement. Trump might just at the last minute balk because there's so much political backlash to what he's agreed to do. There were words, you know, that there will be an unconditional surrender by Iran. This is not an unconditional surrender. And as ever, predicting the next steps of Donald Trump is a mug's game.
Donald Trump is facing a backlash at home over his proposed Iran peace deal. But as the US carries out fresh airstrikes, could an agreement still be within reach? From The Guardian's Today In Focus, this is The Latest with me, Lucy Hoth. Well, joining me is Patrick Wintour, our diplomatic editor. Patrick, over the weekend, we were hearing positive noises from the White House about the shape of a deal forming, that the steps were being taken that were close, that we were within reach. But now there are fresh strikes by the US on southern Iran. What's going on? And what can we read into these mixed messages?
Well, what the American Central Command has said is these were defensive strikes, which I guess they're trying to mollify the Iranians about what they've done.
What are the implications of Trump's proposed peace deal with Iran?
But they've claimed, particularly down in the south, near the strait at Banda Abbas, they have struck what they said was an attempt to set up a kind of missile launchers. And also there was some evidence that the Iranians were trying to lay further mines in the Strait of Hormuz. And at the moment, the Iranian reaction is by their standards relatively muted. And I think they're going to try and still focus on getting this deal rather than going into a kind of mode of saying the ceasefire is over and we're back to fighting.
Yeah, because there has been an insistence from the United States that talks are still ongoing. So even with this sort of what sounds like unilateral action, the talks are still taking place.
Yeah, it's a bit of a caravan. At the moment, I think the talks are going on in Doha, because one of the big issues has been around the issue of Iran's frozen assets and whether they can be unfrozen by the Americans and whether Qatar would be. where I think some of the big money is could be released. And for the Iranian point of view, it's really important that that money is released right at the start of the process, not sort of that it's conditional on something else. They want it right up front.
And meanwhile, Trump domestically is facing a lot of criticism, even from sort of former allies, real Republican hawks. They are sort of criticising Trump for having failed to achieve his war aims, that we're entering into a process where the deal that might emerge from this would be substantially weaker than prior to the conflict. Interesting that we're hearing that quite open criticism from people within Trump's own party.
Yeah, I think it was really kind of messy landing for the proposals over Saturday and Sunday.
How are the US airstrikes characterized by American officials?
And you have Lindsey Graham, who's probably one of his closest allies, extremely critical. Ted Cruz, the senator from Texas, also saying that this was a disaster. And, you know, key people on the Armed Services Committee as well, very critical. So it was a really bumpy reception. And I think the key point they're making is they feel that the whole nuclear file has been deferred to later. And that the sole focus is trying to get the Strait of Hormuz reopened, which had obviously been previously opened before the war started. So everyone's saying, well, what was the point of all that?
Yeah, and we're hearing this sort of bombastic language from Trump claiming this as a victory. But if you listen back to his speech delivered on the 28th of February, the first day of this conflict, when Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's former supreme leader, was killed in US-Israeli airstrikes, the aim was about eliminating the imminent threat from Iran, but also Trump was calling for regime change. We are very far from that at this point. If anything, it feels like Iran has been emboldened, given that it's realised it's got this leverage of the Strait of Hormuz and also that it can withstand US-Israeli military action.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What recent actions has the US taken against Iran?
0:00–1:21
2
What are the implications of Trump's proposed peace deal with Iran?
1:21–3:09
3
How are the US airstrikes characterized by American officials?
3:09–6:14
4
What are the current challenges in the negotiations with Iran?
6:14–9:03
5
What criticisms is Trump facing regarding his Iran strategy?
9:03–10:36
6
How is the Iranian government responding to the US actions?
10:36–11:20