Trump says it makes ‘no difference’ to him if Iran, US reach deal
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President Donald Trump has repeated the US military’s statement that US warships on April 11 transited through the Strait of Hormuz to begin clearing it of Iranian mines.
PHOTO: KENNY HOLSTON/ NYTIMES
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WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump said on April 11 that he was not bothered about the outcome of US-Iran talks in Pakistan, insisting the United States had come out ahead from the war.
“Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me. The reason is... we’ve won,” Mr Trump told reporters.
“We’re in very deep negotiations with Iran. We win regardless. We’ve defeated them militarily,” Mr Trump said.
Mr Trump was speaking as Vice-President J.D. Vance was leading the US delegation in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, with discussions with Iran heading into a second day.
Mr Trump also repeated the US military’s statement that US Navy warships on April 11 transited through the Strait of Hormuz, the vital gateway to the oil-rich Gulf, to begin clearing it of Iranian mines.
The account was denied by Iran, which has exerted power over the narrow waterway and, with it, the world’s oil supply in retaliation for the attack launched on Feb 28 by the US and Israel.
“We have minesweepers out there. We’re sweeping the strait,” Mr Trump said.
“We’ll open up the strait even though we don’t use it, because we have a lot of other countries in the world that do use it that are either afraid or weak or cheap,” Mr Trump said.
He again voiced frustration with allies from NATO that have stayed on the sidelines during the war, and who were not consulted in advance of the February attack.
“We were not helped by NATO – that I can tell you,” Mr Trump said. AFP
