US officials have disclosed their perspective on President Donald Trump's latest threat directed at Iran this Thursday.
As reported by the American news outlet Axios, officials have stated that "the aim of Trump's threat is to pressure Iran into showing greater flexibility in negotiations concerning its nuclear program."
On the "Truth Social" platform, Trump announced that the United States would launch a powerful strike on Iran tonight and "seize the Iranian oil and gas markets, similar to what happened with Venezuela."
Nevertheless, the US president mentioned that "Iranians are negotiating with us to reach an agreement, but they are aggressive themselves."
In parallel, Iranian and Western sources told Reuters on Thursday that efforts to reach a preliminary agreement to end hostilities between the United States and Iran have seen intensification, despite the military escalation.
The sources added that the parties are discussing a mechanism for the release of frozen Iranian funds.
It was also reported that the exchange of messages between the United States and Iran over the details of a memorandum of understanding continues amid the military confrontation between the two countries.
Three Iranian sources mentioned that a political understanding has been reached, although some issues still require detailed discussion, such as the mechanism for releasing tens of billions of dollars from Iranian oil revenues frozen in foreign banks.