US President Donald Trump has expressed optimism that ongoing diplomatic efforts with Iran could lead to an agreement to end the months-long conflict, but warned that Washington would resume military action if negotiations fail. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday, Trump said he believed there was a……
US President Donald Trump has expressed optimism that ongoing diplomatic efforts with Iran could lead to an agreement to end the months-long conflict, but warned that Washington would resume military action if negotiations fail.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday, Trump said he believed there was a possibility of progress through talks, while maintaining that the United States was prepared to return to military operations.
“I have a lot of patience… We’ll see what happens. I think there is a good chance that something could happen,” Trump said when asked about the prospects of peace negotiations.
“If it doesn’t, we go back to doing what we were doing two days ago,” he added.
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The comments came as Iran and the United States observed a third consecutive day without exchanging fire following 13 nights of renewed US strikes, creating a window for diplomatic engagement after an earlier ceasefire effort collapsed over disagreements linked to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said Iranian officials had requested a meeting with him, suggesting that the move was driven by pressure from recent US military actions.
“The only reason they want to meet is because we’ve been hitting them very hard,” he said.
Tehran, however, earlier denied that direct negotiations were under way, saying mediators were merely relaying messages from Washington.
The lull has eased pressure on global markets, but the conflict remains volatile. Saudi Arabia said Monday it had intercepted drones launched by Iran-linked groups in Iraq, while Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthi rebels claimed attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure.
Trump also dismissed concerns that five months of war had depleted US ammunition stocks.
“We have a lot of ammunition,” he said. “We have a lot of the mid-level stuff too, more than we could ever use, no matter what.”
He added that he would prefer larger reserves but complained that “so much was given to Ukraine” in its war with Russia.
Asked whether Saudi Arabia was considering joining the Abraham Accords, the US-brokered normalization agreements with Israel, Trump said: “We haven’t talked, no.”
Trump faced wide-ranging questions on foreign policy, including about what would happen to money seized from Venezuela.
Trump said it could be directed to the US military and suggested Washington could similarly extract funds from Iran.
“We are taking in a lot of money. Billions and billions of dollars,” he said. “That will happen with Iran too.”
AFP
