US-Iran deal: Trump walks out of key White House meeting

A meeting chaired by US President Donald Trump at the White House for a decision on a possible deal with Iran concluded without any outcome earlier this week.

The president left the two-hour meeting without making a decision, the Associated Press reported, citing a senior Trump administration official.

Ahead of the meeting, which was held on Friday, Trump had insisted in a social media post that a deal extending the cease-fire would involve the reopening of the conflict-hit Strait of Hormuz by Iran.

He had also asserted that Tehran’s commitment to never develop a nuclear bomb and allowing the United States to remove its enriched uranium remained among Washington’s key conditions for an agreement.

Iran has repeatedly opposed those terms. The unnamed official cited by AP said Trump would only sign a deal that “satisfies his redlines” and curbs Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

The high-level talks at the White House with his aides were confirmed by Trump a day after several news outlets, including AP, reported US and Iranian negotiators had agreed on a tentative agreement.

The deal would extend the fragile ceasefire between the warring sides by 60 days as fresh talks are held on Iran’s disputed nuclear programme.