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US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) said that his administration is expecting a response from Iran later in the day regarding Washington's proposal aimed at ending the ongoing West Asia conflict.
Speaking to reporters before travelling to a dinner at his golf course in Sterling, Virginia, Trump said, "We'll hear from them supposedly tonight," when asked whether Washington had received any response from Tehran. When pressed on whether he believed Iran was intentionally delaying the process, Trump said he was uncertain, adding, "We'll find out soon enough." His remarks came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was anticipating an Iranian response on Friday to the proposal aimed at ending the conflict, while expressing hope that it would be "a serious offer". "We should know something today," Rubio told reporters during a gaggle in Rome. Rubio is currently on a diplomatic tour to Italy and the Vatican amid tension in the transatlantic relations between the US and Europe. "We have not received that yet, as of the last hour," Rubio said, adding that Iran's internal situation could be affecting the timeline. "Their system is still highly fractured, and it's dysfunctional as well, so that may be serving as an impediment," he added. Rubio said Washington hoped the Iranian response would lead to "a serious process of negotiation". Earlier on Thursday, the US President clarified the scope of the diplomatic outreach, noting that the proposal aimed at resolving the ongoing standoff with Iran is considerably more detailed than a simple "one-page offer" as Tehran continued to evaluate communications from Washington transmitted via Pakistani mediators. Responding to enquiries regarding whether Iran had engaged with what some had termed a "one-page proposal", Trump challenged that description of the document. "Well, it's more than a one-page offer. It's an offer that basically said they will not have nuclear weapons; they are going to hand us the nuclear dust and many other things that we want," Trump said. When questioned on whether the Iranian leadership had consented to these terms, Trump indicated that a verbal agreement does not necessarily signal a definitive resolution. "They have agreed. When they agree, it doesn't mean much because the next day they forget they agreed," he said, further noting, "And you know, we're dealing with different sets of leaders." (ANI)
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