- Donald Trump declined to comment on potential new strikes against Iran during a press briefing
- Trump expressed dissatisfaction with Iran's latest negotiating proposal, citing internal discord
- He indicated ongoing but inconsistent talks due to shifting positions within Iran's leadership
Hours after Iran sent a fresh proposal for talks with the United States to end the war, President Donald Trump evaded a question on Friday about striking Iran again.
While Trump was speaking to reporters in Washington, a reporter asked him, "Are you considering new strikes on Iran?"
The Republican leader stepped back and said, "Why would I tell you that?" essentially ending the conversation.
Earlier, Trump had said that he was "not satisfied" with the new Iranian negotiating proposal.
"At this moment I'm not satisfied with what they're offering," Trump told reporters, laying blame for the stalled talks with Iran due to "tremendous discord" within its leadership.
He added that negotiations were ongoing but inconsistent. "They get close, and then a new group of people comes in," he said, pointing to shifting positions within Iran's leadership.
Asked why he was unsatisfied with the Iranian offer, Trump said, "They're asking for things that I can't agree." However, he gave no details.
"Do we want to go and just blast the hell out of them and finish them forever -- or do we want to try and make a deal? I mean, those are the options," he said when asked about next steps, adding he would "prefer not" to take the first option "on a human basis".
In the meantime, Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off vast amounts of oil, gas and fertiliser from the world economy, while the US has imposed a counterblockade on Iranian ports.
Since the war began on February 28, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran and more than 2,600 people in Lebanon, where new fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah broke out two days after the war started, according to authorities.
Additionally, 24 people have died in Israel and more than 20 in Gulf Arab states. Seventeen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 US service members throughout the region have been killed.
