Trump denies reports that Iran has stopped talking to mediators, says talks continue – National
Iran has stopped communicating with mediators about extending the ceasefire with the US and Israel, two official Iranian news agencies reported on Tuesday, but US President Donald Trump denied the claim and said talks were continuing.
The reports by the Fars and Tasnim news agencies, both believed to be close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, came as tensions flared in Israel’s separate but linked war with the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
A regional official involved in the settlement, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the talks, told The Associated Press that Iran had not communicated at all on Tuesday after saying a deal must be suspended in Lebanon for talks to continue.
Trump says talks are ‘going forward’
But Trump called reports of the talks stalling “false and erroneous.”
“The conversations between us have been ongoing, including four days ago, three days ago, two days ago, one day ago and today,” Trump said on social media.
“Where they lead, one doesn’t know, but as I told Iran, ‘It’s time, one way or another, for you to make a deal.'”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not address the reported blackout as he testified at a Congressional hearing in Washington. Instead, he expressed hope for the nuclear scale of the talks, while warning that there is no guarantee of reaching an “acceptable agreement.”
Iran has been trying to increase pressure on Trump regarding negotiations to end the Iran war and loosen the Islamic Republic’s control over the Strait of Hormuz and the oil, gas and other supplies that often pass through it. Then Trump may pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt or reduce the advance of his forces, which have gone deeper into Lebanon than at any time in more than a quarter of a century.
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The tensions are escalating, as Iran insists that any possible agreement on the war there must also end the fighting in Lebanon.
Israel and the US keep fighting in Lebanon separate from the Iran war talks.
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Inflation has a negative impact on Iran’s economy
Meanwhile, year-on-year inflation in Iran reached a level in May not seen since World War II, underscoring the extent of the economic pain Iranians are facing. While the US is committed to easing the Islamic Republic’s influence over the crisis – through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas exports have passed in peacetime – Iran faces economic challenges as its oil-based economy remains blocked by US warships.
Economic pressure sparked nationwide protests in Iran in 2017 to 2018, when rising food prices sparked protests that left more than 20 people dead and hundreds arrested. The following year, a government-sponsored fuel price hike sparked protests that left more than 300 people dead.
Then came protests over the devaluation of Iran’s currency, the rial, earlier this year. They were the most violent protests to rock the Islamic Republic since its uprising in 1979 and the years of turmoil that followed. Iran’s pro-democracy regime faced protests in January when a crackdown on protesters in January killed more than 7,000 people, according to activist estimates.
Now, as ministers work hard to hold gun-handling workshops and organize weddings under the shadow of an archer to bolster spirits, experts note there could be fresh protests if people find themselves being charged money to support their families.
“I have no doubt that if Trump goes (to Iran without a formal peace agreement) … probably, we will see something like January in late summer because of the economic and social conditions,” analyst Mohsen Jalilvand said in a video published by the Iranian news website Fararu.
Prices rise at ‘unprecedented rate’
The Central Bank of Iran said the consumer price index, which measures a basket of goods and services, reached 77.2% in May compared to a year ago. The rate is 8.5% higher than in April, the bank said. Inflation for daily and general needs – such as medicine, taxi fares, cigarettes and communication costs – rose by 113.8% from the previous year.
Iran’s independent economic institute, the Bamdad Institute of Economic Studies, described the current figures as “a level not seen since World War II.” The Central Bank of Iran did not acknowledge the significance of these figures.
The previous history came in 1942. During the war, the British and Soviets invaded Iran and seized its railways, disrupting food supply. Food shortages, exacerbated by poor harvests, led to hyperinflation and famine. Famine and an outbreak of typhus killed many.
Airstrikes this year have severely damaged Iran’s businesses and its oil industry, Meanwhile, the US embargo has been targeting Iran’s crude oil exports trying to reach the international market, the main source of hard-earned income. Tax revenues have depressed businesses that are struggling even after the fighting has temporarily stopped.
The rial, which traded at 32,000 to US$1 in 2015, now trades at more than 1.7 million to $1.
“We will definitely have higher prices,” warned Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in May. “We are fighting, and we must acknowledge this difficulty.”
Tehran-based economist Saeed Leilaz, speaking to AP, warned that annual inflation in Iran could reach 80%.
“Iranian society cannot tolerate inflation of more than 25%” per year, he said.
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