US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran and Israel are playing a role in ongoing negotiations involving the United States, Israel, and Hamas, aimed at securing a ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages.
“Gaza right now is in the midst of a massive negotiation between us and Hamas and Israel, and Iran actually is involved,” Trump told reporters during an event in the White House State Dining Room. “We’ll see what’s going to happen with Gaza. We want to get the hostages back,” Trump said.
However, Trump offered no further details on Tehran’s role, and the White House declined to comment on the nature of Iran’s involvement. Iran’s mission to the United Nations also did not respond to a request for clarification.
The United States has reportedly proposed a 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Israel said it would abide by the terms but Hamas thus far has rejected the plan.
Under the proposal, 28 Israeli hostages – alive and dead – would be released in the first week, in exchange for the release of 1,236 Palestinian prisoners and the remains of 180 dead Palestinians.
The United States and Iran are also separately trying to negotiate a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.
“We’re doing a lot of work on Iran right now,” Trump told reporters at an economic event at the White House. “It’s tough. … They’re great negotiators.”
“They’re just asking for things that you can’t do. They don’t want to give up what they have to give up,” Trump added. “They seek enrichment. We can’t have enrichment. We want just the opposite. And so far, they’re not there.”
“They have given us their thoughts on the deal. And I said, you know, it’s just not acceptable,” Trump said as Tehran plans to hand Washington a counter-proposal.
Trump also said he discussed Iran amongst other topics with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, adding that the call went well.
Netanyahu said he spoke with Trump and the president told him talks would continue at the end of the week, a statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office said.
With input from Reuters
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