Trump says he’s likely to reject Iran’s end-the-war proposal as it has ‘not yet paid big enough price’

US President Donald Trump says that he has yet to review the exact wording of a new Iranian proposal for ending the war but he is unlikely to accept it, because the Iranians have not yet “paid a big enough price.”

Trump’s remarks on social media conclude a day in which he publicly mused about the possibility of restarting airstrikes, the latest mixed signal as he seeks to end the war he launched more than two months ago.

The United States and Israel suspended their bombing campaign against Iran four weeks ago, but appear no closer to a deal to end a war that has caused the biggest disruption ever to global energy supplies, roiled global markets and raised worries about the possibility of a wider global economic downturn.

In his post on social media, Trump writes: “I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but can’t imagine that it would be acceptable in that they have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World, over the last 47 years.”

On Saturday, a senior Iranian official said Iran’s proposal would first open shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and end a US blockade of Iran, while leaving talks on Iran’s nuclear program for later.

Though Trump had already said on Friday that he was not satisfied with the Iranian proposal, he said yesterday he had yet to hear all the details.

“They told me about the concept of the deal. They’re going to give me the exact wording now,” he said. Asked if he might restart strikes on Iran, Trump replied: “I don’t want to say that. I mean, I can’t tell that to a reporter. If they misbehave, if they do something bad, right now we’ll see. But it’s a possibility that could happen.”