U.S. President Donald Trump claimed last night that Iran has told the U.S. it wants to negotiate. “The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” he told reporters on Air Force One on Jan. 11, Sunday night, reported AP, and other media. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first (militarily) as media hype reports of the Iran death toll rising from rioting, and the government continues to arrest protesters. “I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.” He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
There are reports that over the weekend, an official from Oman—often an intermediary between Iran and the United States—was in Iran.
Today, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivered remarks to a meeting of foreign diplomats in Tehran, in which he condemned what PressTV characterized as the U.S.- and Israeli-fueled deadly violence that has been waged by terrorist elements against Iranian civilians and security forces, asserting that no country brooks such an atrocity.
