'They just want to make a deal': Trump chairs full cabinet meeting as Iran negotiations heat up

WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump while chairing a full cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday said that while Iran is very much intent on a deal, his administration is “not satisfied” with the terms. “They just want to make a deal. I dont think they have a choice. Their economy is in free fall,” the president told meeting attendees. “Their money has no value, their whole economic system has broken down,” he said. “They thought they were gonna outwait me, like, ‘He’s got a midterm’. I dont care about the midterm.” he said. “It’s very simple, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. I am doing this for the whole world not for the US only,” he said. “We’ve had great support from other nations. We need it at all.” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio while briefing the meeting said Washington’s first option is diplomacy. “We continued to work on that. We want an agreement to be made. There has been some progress,” he added. Trump’s administration faces growing tensions in the Middle East and difficult negotiations with Iran over a possible agreement aimed at reducing the risk of a wider regional conflict. The cabinet meeting comes amidst efforts to finalise a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iran after weeks of indirect negotiations. The proposed agreement is intended to preserve the fragile ceasefire and create conditions for broader talks on Iran’s nuclear program and regional security issues. Diplomats familiar with the negotiations say most of the document had already been agreed upon over the weekend. At the time, there was optimism that an early signing of the MoU could help ease tensions in the Persian Gulf, including around the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil shipping routes. Iranian state TV reported earlier today that Tehran had obtained a draft of the initial, unofficial framework for the MoU. Under the alleged framework, Iran would restore commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within