ADDS DETAILS; CLARIFIES TIME OF DEADLINE; REVISES DECK
By Yasin Gungor
ISTANBUL (AA) - US President Donald Trump on Monday described Iran's response to a US peace proposal as a 'significant step' though still falling short.
'It's not good enough, but it's a very significant step,' Trump told reporters at the White House.
'We'll see what happens,' he said, adding that the 8 pm Tuesday EDT deadline (12 midnight Wednesday GMT) is the final cutoff for Iran before threatened US strikes on energy infrastructure.
Trump said postponing that deadline for Iran is 'highly unlikely,' adding: 'They've had plenty of time.'
He claimed Iran had asked for a seven-day postponement to his earlier threats but that he gave them 10 instead. 'I gave them a chance and I hope they take the chance. If they don't, it's trouble.'
Asked about Vice President JD Vance's possible role in negotiations, Trump said he 'could be' involved in in-person Iran-related talks with 'officials' in coming days. It was not immediately clear where these officials might be from. He said Vance and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, were 'unified' in talking together to intermediaries.
-Wants to 'finish it up'
Washington has 'many alternatives' and could leave Iran 'right now,' Trump said, adding that he wants to 'finish it up.'
What Trump called the third tier of Iran's leadership purportedly now in place is 'much smarter' and less 'radicalized,' he said.
He added that if he had his choice, he would 'take the oil' from Iran, claiming that there is 'not a thing they can do about it.'
'If it were up to me, I take the oil, I keep the oil, and we make plenty of money,' Trump said, though he acknowledged that the American public's desire to 'come home' might prevent this strategy.
The US president compared his goals to his recent experience with Venezuela, saying that 100 million barrels of oil are currently being refined in the US and that Washington has a 'fantastic' relationship with leaders there.
President Nicolas Maduro remains in US custody following his abduction in an overnight US military raid in the capital Caracas in early January. Delcy Rodriguez, the acting president, has since reshuffled key officials and taken steps to open Venezuela's oil sector to foreign investment.
On the situation in Iran, Trump claimed that Iranians are 'upset' when they do not hear bombs because they 'want to be free,' but are deterred from protesting by the threat of being shot. Trump said he remains upset that weapons sent earlier to arm Iranian protesters were stolen by intermediaries.
Iran conveyed its response to a US proposal via Pakistan after two weeks of high-level deliberations, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported Monday.
Tehran's conditions include a permanent end to the war -- rejecting any temporary ceasefire -- a full halt to hostilities across the region, protocols for safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, reconstruction assistance, and the lifting of sanctions.
The US-Israeli strikes on Iran that began on Feb. 28 have reportedly killed at least 1,340 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.
