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Arab News has cited Israeli Media outlet Yedioth Ahronoth to report that Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was prepared to negotiate with the Americans.
Ahrnaooth cited a coversation between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. intermediary Steve Witkoff which was approved by the highest level in Iran. Earlier, the spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry had dismissed US President Donald Trump's claims of talks with Iran, saying Tehran has had no negotiations with Washington over the past 24 days of the unprovoked US-Israel war against the Islamic Republic. The key development comes after United States President Donald Trump on Monday said the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route, will be "open very soon" amid the conflict in West Asia and suggested that he envisions it being managed jointly by the US and Iran. Speaking to reporters in Florida, Trump said that the strait will be "open very soon" if ongoing negotiations with Tehran continue successfully. He added that he and the newly appointed Supreme Leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, will "jointly" control the critical shipping and global energy route. "It'll be jointly controlled. Me and the Ayatollah, whoever the Ayatollah is, whoever the next Ayatollah is," the US President added. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical transit route that normally handles 15 million barrels per day of crude oil and 5 million barrels per day of oil products, representing roughly 25 per cent of global seaborne oil trade. However, due to the conflict in the region, the waterway has been considered high-risk for transit, choking the global energy supply. Trump also highlighted that the recent early strikes in the conflict had targeted much of Iran's senior leadership, saying, "And there'll also be a very serious form of regime change. There's automatically a regime change," and noted that talks over the weekend showed potential to reduce tensions. Commenting on the individuals involved in negotiations, Trump said, "But we're dealing with some people that I find to be very reasonable, very solid. The people within know who they are, they're very respected, and maybe one of them will be exactly what we're looking for." Earlier, the US President announced that he had instructed the US Department of War to delay any military action against Iranian power plants and energy sites for five days, citing ongoing diplomatic engagements with Tehran amid escalating tensions in West Asia. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the United States and Iran had held "very good and productive conversations" over the past two days aimed at resolving hostilities in the region. He added that the decision to pause strikes was based on the "tenor and tone" of the discussions, which he described as "in-depth, detailed, and constructive". Trump further stated that the conversations will continue through the week. The key development comes as the conflict between US-Israel and Iran has now entered into its fourth week--with ripple effects being felt beyond West Asia and the Gulf region as concerns intensify over global energy security, with supply bottlenecks and damaged infrastructure- civilian, military and energy. (ANI)
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