After what seemed like forever since anyone talked about peace in the Persian Gulf, President Trump suddenly came to life Wednesday discussing the possibility that a deal might be done soon. We’ve heard that talk before, but one event in the near future, the President’s upcoming meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping, could be an incentive to get a deal done now. How realistic are the chance a peace deal could be hammered out, and how much pressure is on the American negotiators to make it happen before Trump and Xi talk face-to-face? WOR White House correspondent Jon Decker appeared on 710 WOR’s Curtis Sliwa and Larry Mendte in the Morning program to discuss how much pressure might be on the US to get a deal in place with the Iranians before Trump meets with the Chinese.
Decker addressed suggestions that talks of peace sort of came out of nowhere: “Well, it has come out of nowhere, to a certain extent. There have been back-channel conversations to try to find a diplomatic solution, so what they’re working on right now, Larry and Curtis, is essentially talks to restart talks, talks to have a second round of negotiations that would happen as early as next week in Islamabad, Pakistan… There are two problems that I see; (they) are the two demands of the US side of Iran- one demand opening up the Strait of Hormuz, that’s been a non-starter, the other demand conveying over to the US 900 pounds of nuclear material, that enriched uranium. That has also been a non-starter for the Iranians."
Decker also discussed what effect a meeting Wednesday between the foreign ministers of Iran and China could have on US-Iran talks: “Clearly, the focus of attention is (on) trying to find a pathway to end this conflict. It has not been in China’s interest because they get so much of their energy from the Persian Gulf which travels through the Strait of Hormuz, and they’re not getting that right now, So, the blockade that the US has placed on Iranian ports has impacted China in a very real way.”
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