Donald Trump says Iran wants deal but rejects US terms as 60-day negotiating period comes to an end

US President Donald Trump said Iran wants to reach an agreement with Washington but is unwilling to accept the kind of deal he considers necessary as a 60day negotiating period between the two sides ended on MondayTrump made the remarks while speaking to reporters at the White House without providing details about the status of the negotiations He reiterated that preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon remained the US objectiveTrump says Iran wants a deal but not on US termsTrump said Tehran was interested in reaching an agreement but maintained that Iran had not agreed to the conditions he considered necessaryThey want to make a deal but theyre not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary Trump told reporters at the White House on MondayHe did not elaborate on the outstanding issues in the negotiations or indicate whether further talks between Washington and Tehran were plannedTrump stressed that the US position on Irans nuclear programme remained unchangedYou understand that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and they wont have a nuclear weapon Trump said Its very simple They cant have a nuclear warThe comments came as the two sides reached the end of a 60day negotiating period with disagreements over Irans nuclear programme and the strategic Strait of Hormuz continuing to dominate the discussionsStrait of Hormuz becomes another point of contentionTrump also spoke about the Strait of Hormuz a major global shipping route and claimed that the United States had total control over the waterway through a naval blockade of Iranian portsWe control it the strait with the blockade And I like the idea of declaring it a territory Trump said We have total control over the Strait nowTrump has repeatedly raised the possibility of treating the strategically important waterway as US territory although he did not provide details about how such a move could be implementedThe Strait of Hormuz is a key route for global energy shipments and developments affecting its operation can have implications for crude oil prices and international marketsTrump criticises Oman over Strait of Hormuz planTrump also commented on Oman which has reportedly been working with Iran on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while keeping the waterway under the control of the two countriesAsked about his earlier warning against Oman Trump said he believed the country had not acted appropriately but suggested the United States could respond without difficultyI dont think they behaved very well but wed handle them very easily just like we do othersHis remarks add another layer to the tensions surrounding the waterway where competing positions between the United States and Iran have raised concerns over regional security and international shippingIran denies backchannel talks with USMeanwhile Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC rejected Trumps claim that a backchannel for negotiations exists between Washington and the IRGCIn an interview with the semiofficial Tasnim news agency IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi described Trumps claim as a delusion and said there was no dialogue taking place between IRGC officials and the United StatesMohebbi also said Irans diplomatic apparatus was not currently negotiating with WashingtonHe attributed the absence of talks to what he described as Washingtons breach of promisesNuclear issue remains at centre of disputeThe conflicting statements highlight the gap between the positions of Washington and Tehran as the 60day negotiating period comes to an endWhile Trump said Iran was seeking an agreement but would not accept the terms he considered necessary Iranian officials denied that direct or backchannel negotiations with the United States were taking place through the IRGCThe nuclear issue remains central to the dispute with Washington insisting that Iran must not acquire a nuclear weapon and Tehran maintaining its position in the face of US pressureWith inputs from IANS