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U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that a deal with Iran to end the Middle East war was “very possible” after what he described as “very good talks” over the past 24 hours, as Tehran continues to review a U.S. proposal.
“We’ve had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump also said the U.S. was “dealing with people who want to make a deal very much,” but added that any agreement would have to be satisfactory to Washington.
“We’ll see whether or not they can make a deal that is satisfactory to us,” Trump said at a White House event.
“If they don’t agree, they’ll end up agreeing shortly thereafter,” he added.
Trump expressed optimism about reaching an agreement with Iran but warned that U.S. military action could resume if negotiations failed.
“I felt that way before with them, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump told PBS News before a White House event.
Asked about getting enriched uranium from Iran as he left the East Room, Trump said: “We’re going to get it.”
He also said it was “unlikely” that he would send special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to the talks.
“I think it’s got a very good chance of ending, and if it doesn’t end, we have to go back to bombing the hell out of them,” Trump said.
Earlier on Truth Social, Trump said the conflict would end and the Strait of Hormuz would reopen “assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption.”
“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” he said.
At a White House event for mothers of U.S. military servicemen and women, Trump described the Iran war as a “skirmish” and said the U.S. was “doing very well.”
“It’s going very smoothly and we’ll see what happens,” he said.
“They want to make a deal, they want to negotiate, and I think that military mothers would want to hear that,” Trump added.
Trump said the U.S. has “the greatest military in the world by far” and said Washington would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
“We’re blowing them away right now ... we’re not going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
He also referred to the U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports, saying “the blockade is unbelievable” and that “the navy has been incredible.”
“They’re not getting anything through one way or the other,” Trump said. “They’re out of business and we’ll see whether or not they are agreeing.”
Trump also spoke of plans to spend a further $1.5 trillion on the U.S. military and said “the world is watching us as we do our thing.”
Despite Trump’s optimism, Iran has not yet responded to the new U.S. proposal.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told local media that the “U.S. plan and proposal are still under review” and that Tehran would convey its position to mediator Pakistan “after finalising its views.”
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has taken the lead in negotiations with the U.S., warned Wednesday that Washington was seeking to pressure Iran into surrender.
Ghalibaf said the U.S. was seeking, “through a naval blockade, economic pressure and media manipulation, to destroy the country’s cohesion in order to force us to surrender.”
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