Trump not satisfied with Iran's new peace proposal: Report

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump is not satisfied with Iran's latest peace proposal, which seeks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the US naval blockade of Iran's ports, while leaving its nuclear program for later negotiations, US media reported, citing several White House officials.

The president discussed Iran's proposal with his top national security officials at a meeting in the White House Situation Room on Monday afternoon, said the reports.

One of the people attending the meeting said Trump was not likely to accept Iran's proposal, which was delivered to the United States over the last few days, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting CNN.

A US official told The New York Times that accepting the proposal could appear to deny Trump a victory since the president has repeatedly insisted that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons.

In an interview with Fox News on Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran's new proposal "is better than what we thought they were going to submit," but stressed any deal must bar Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.

Trump insisted last week that any peace deal with Iran would be made on US terms and his timeline, claiming there is "no time frame" for ending the US-Israeli war with Iran and "no time pressure" on either the extended ceasefire or stalled talks.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Monday blamed the slow progress of diplomacy between Iran and the United States on the latter's continuation of its "destructive habits."

He made the remarks in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, among others, read a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.