BBC Reporter Iran Not Bending On Peace Talks

Donald Trump’s claims that peace talks are underway to end the war in Iran have been slapped down by the Tehran regime.

The US president claimed the country was ready to make a deal nearly four weeks and America and Israel launched their bombing campaign.

Bizarrely, Trump also said Iran had given him “a very big present” but refused to say what it was.

“What it showed me is that we’re dealing with the right people,” he said.

However, in a video statement, a spokesman for the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) dismissed those claims and suggested that the country will not give up its control of the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane.

The spokesman said: “Has the level of your own conflicts reached the stage of negotiating with yourselves?

“Neither will you see your investments in the region, nor the former prices of energy and oil, until you understand the stability in the region is ensured by the powerful hand of our armed forces.”

He added that “someone like us will never come to terms with someone like you. Not now, not ever”.

On Radio 4′s Today programme, BBC foreign correspondent James Waterhouse said: “Once again we’re seeing Iran slap down these claims from the White House that it is desperate for talks to take place.”

He added: “Iran is holding firm for now. Iran is saying we will let friendly ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz if they co-operate with our officials.

“That is reflective of its continued control in the region, despite the heightened rhetoric from America on peace talks being imminent, but also the reports that America is having to put more resources into this. Iran isn’t budging.”