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U.S. President Donald Trump described Iran as the "world’s number one sponsor of terror" on Friday while signaling that the conflict involving Tehran could soon wind down.
Speaking at a Republican event in New York’s Rockland County ahead of November’s midterm elections, Trump accused Iran of financing instability across the world and vowed that Tehran would never obtain nuclear weapons.
"Our warriors are ensuring that Iran, the world's number one sponsor of terror, they send their money all over the world to create problems — this will never happen again, and they will never have nuclear weapons," Trump told supporters.
The U.S. president also hinted that the war could soon come to an end.
"We have stopped them. They're not going to ever have a nuclear weapon. They're never going to have a nuclear weapon. And we'll have that over with soon," Trump remarked during the rally. "It'll be over with soon."
Trump spent much of the speech focusing on domestic politics but also touched on Venezuela and ongoing military operations abroad. He claimed oil revenues from Venezuela, secured after the capture of then-President Nicolas Maduro earlier this year, had covered the costs of the war effort many times over and argued that he built "the strongest military in history" during his first term.
At one point, the rally briefly stalled after a protester interrupted the event. Trump initially told security personnel not to hurt the individual before adding that he made the comment for "legal reasons."
Meanwhile, diplomatic activity surrounding the conflict intensified. Iran’s semi-official news agency reported Friday that a Qatari delegation was holding talks in Tehran with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as part of mediation efforts backed by Pakistan.
Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, also arrived in Tehran in his second visit linked to mediation efforts. Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has remained in the Iranian capital for indirect talks involving Washington and Tehran.
The diplomatic push gathered pace as reports suggested negotiators were narrowing differences over a possible agreement to end the war.
Mediation efforts accelerated after Pakistan helped secure a ceasefire on April 8 and later hosted high-level talks between U.S. and Iranian officials on April 11-12, while Islamabad is now trying to set up another round of direct negotiations.
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