‘If I had my choice on Iran, I'd take the oil and make plenty of money,’ says Trump

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Monday that if it were up to him, the United States would take control of ⁠Iran's ​oil, but he said the American ​people would probably not understand such a move.

He added that the Tuesday deadline he ​has set for Iran to make a deal is ‌final, calling Iran's peace proposal significant but not good enough.

"They made a proposal, and it's a ⁠significant proposal. It's a significant step. It's not good enough," ​he told reporters during an Easter egg event for children ​on the White House South Lawn.

"It could end very quickly, the war, if they do what they have to do. They have to do ​certain things. They know that, they've been negotiating I ​think in good faith," he said.

Trump's senior aides have been negotiating with ‌Iran ⁠indirectly through Pakistan, attempting to get a deal in which Iran will forswear nuclear weapons and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the oil transit waterway. Iran said it wanted a permanent ​end to ​the war, not ⁠just a temporary ceasefire.

Trump said it appeared the latest team representing the Iranian government is "not ​as radicalised" as others who have been killed ​in ⁠airstrikes,. "We think they're actually smarter," he said. He has warned US forces will unleash broad attacks on Iranian infrastructure if his ​Tuesday night deadline is not met. Iran has rejected ​Trump's deadline.

Earlier, Pakistan shared a framework with the US and Iran to end hostilities that could come into effect on Monday and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a source aware of the proposals said on Monday. The framework was exchanged with Iran and the US overnight, the source said, outlining a two-tier approach with an immediate ceasefire followed by a comprehensive agreement.