"Not sure if it’s naive, stupid, or acting like both."
[Herald Economy = Reporter Jung Mok-hee] U.S. President Donald Trump said there is a high possibility that negotiations with Iran will be concluded by the end of this month, British Sky News reported on the 15th (local time).
Asked about the possibility of reaching an agreement with Iran before British King Charles III's visit to the U.S., President Trump said in a telephone interview with Sky News on the 14th, "It's possible. It's very possible. They (Iran) have been hit hard." King Charles III will visit Washington, DC, and New York from the 27th to the 30th to attend a state dinner at the White House and deliver a speech to the U.S. Congress.
President Trump said in a Fox Business interview that aired early on the 15th, "I think the war is almost over," and emphasized, "It is very close to the end." Earlier in the New York Post and ABC interviews, he also hinted at the possibility of resuming the end-of-war negotiations with Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan. At the same time, President Trump said he exchanged letters with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the meeting, and that he received a response that China was not providing weapons to Iran. "I sent a letter after hearing that China was supplying weapons to Iran, and President Xi replied that he was not doing so," he explained.
President Trump will visit China for two days from October 14. However, Bloomberg reported that President Trump did not specify when the letter was sent. "When I heard that China was providing weapons to Iran, I sent the letter and President Xi replied to it," he said. "I asked President Xi not to do so, and President Xi said in a letter that he was not doing so." Bloomberg reported that President Trump did not specify when the letter was sent. The interview with Fox Business was recorded the day before and aired on the same day.
Meanwhile, President Trump repeatedly complained to Sky News about his relationship with the U.K., saying, "I asked for help, but they (the U.K.) did not help." The U.K. did not actively participate in the U.S. air strike on Iran, refused to send troops to the Strait of Hormuz, and only helped its Middle East partner. He said the relationship between the two countries was "better but sad" and added, "They (the U.K.) reached a good trade agreement. It was a better agreement than necessary. That can change at any time." This suggests the possibility of changing the trade agreement announced by the two countries last year, with the main goal of reducing tariffs on automobiles, steel and aluminum. President Trump praised Charles III as "a great gentleman, my friend, and a fantastic man," while criticizing Prime Minister Keir Starmer for "making a tragic choice of implementing bad immigration and energy policies, even though he liked him." 정목희 @heraldcorp.com">mokiya@heraldcorp.com
"Of course, there’s no need to automatically distrust everything the other side says. But at the same time, there’s even less reason to place complete trust in it. In the end, what truly matters is to bring the war to a swift conclusion and stabilize oil prices. One way or another, I only hope they quickly sort out the problems they themselves created."