US President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran is eager to reach a settlement with Washington, framing a pause in negotiations as a courtesy tied to the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in US-Israeli strikes at the start of the war.
Speaking at Mount Rushmore during America’s 250th anniversary celebrations, Trump said the US had given Iran “a week off for a funeral because we’re nice”.
Trump said that Iran is “very keen and actively trying to settle politically with the US”. Highlighting recent conflicts, he said: “We beat Venezuela in one day, and we knocked the hell out of Iran; they’re dying to settle. They want to settle so badly. We gave him a week off for a funeral because we’re nice.”
The Iranian negotiators, who include the parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, confirmed that discussions will take place after the end of funeral ceremonies.
Iran commenced six days of mourning for Khamenei beginning from Saturday. These mourning ceremonies are expected to attract around 15 to 20 million mourners in Tehran, Qom and Mashhad.
Khamenei, who was aged 86, died along with some other family members when the Israeli and American strikes took place against his residential area on February 28, which marked the beginning of the war. Mojtaba Khamenei became the new Supreme Leader of Iran in March following the death of his father, Khamenei.
Domestically, Trump argued the country is only at the “starting point” of what he called America’s golden age, describing the US as the most respected and stable nation on the world stage.
