Foreign News
Iran still seeks nuclear deal after US strikes: White House
Iran continues to communicate with the US and has expressed interest in reaching a nuclear agreement despite recent US military strikes, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said.
Asked whether negotiations with Tehran were at a standstill or had effectively ended, Leavitt said on Thursday President Donald Trump had told her that diplomatic contacts remain active.
“Well, I’ve spoken with the president about this as recently as an hour ago. Iran very much continues to talk to the United States of America and express that they want to make a deal with us because they are suffering devastating blows on behalf of our United States military,” she said.
Leavitt said the reason for the recent US strikes over the last several days is “because Iran violated the memorandum of understanding that we struck with them.”
“Specifically, in the memorandum of understanding that they signed, they were not to fire on commercial vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz, and unfortunately, they have made the tragic decision for them to do that,” she added.
Trump backs Vance remarks
President Trump believes foreign nations have sought to influence American public opinion, according to the White House.
The statement followed remarks by Vice President JD Vance that an Israeli-funded campaign sought to derail US-Iran negotiations.
“I think the president would certainly agree that yes, foreign countries certainly do try to persuade American public opinion. There’s no doubt about that. I think it’s just a basic fact,” Leavitt told reporters.
Leavitt was asked about recent comments by Vance, who told podcast host Joe Rogan that a “foreign influence campaign” was being funded to “tank” efforts to secure an agreement between the US and Iran.
Vance said he was certain some Israeli officials were trying to steer Washington away from pursuing a deal to end the war with Iran. He added that others in the Israeli government, with whom he has good relations, were not involved.
