US reportedly engaged in backchannel efforts, though Israel is apparently not on the same page, and military buildup continues.United States President Donald Trump has maintained that negotiations to end the war on Iran are under way, claiming that Tehran wanted to make a deal “so badly” despite its previous denial that talks were happening.Speaking at the White House on Tuesday evening, Trump told reporters that the US, which joined Israel in attacking Iran at the end of last month, was talking to “the right people” to reach a deal, alluding to a “very big present” related to “oil and gas” having been gifted by Tehran.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listBut, as fighting continued, including continued Iranian attacks on Israel and a strike near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant, uncertainty swirled around Trump’s claims, which had already been dismissed as “fake news” by Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, on Monday.Trump’s latest claims coincided with media reports that Washington had sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war. Israel’s Channel 12 cited sources saying the plan would include the end of Iran’s nuclear programme and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has throttled throughout the conflict.Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo said the plan had apparently been handed over to Iran by Pakistan, noting that Trump was “under pressure” about a costly and unpopular war. A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Tuesday found that 61 percent of people in the US disapproved of the attacks on Iran, compared with 59 percent last week. Some 35 percent approved the …
