U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (3) that he believes Washington and Tehran could reach a peace deal “this weekend.”
“I’ve been told that the negotiations are going very well. If it happens—or maybe not, who knows, but if it happens—it could be this weekend,” Trump said when asked by reporters in the Oval Office about the progress of negotiations to end the conflict sparked by the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran on February 28.
The comments stand in stark contrast to statements by Iran’s foreign minister, who said there had been “no tangible progress” in negotiations with the United States to end the simmering conflict in the Middle East.
In an interview with a Lebanese television station and reported by the Tasnim news agency, Abbas Araghchi stated that “a return to the negotiating table depends on guaranteeing the rights of the Iranian people, ending the war in Lebanon, and reducing tensions in the region.” Trump, for his part, said he would like to “separate” discussions on Lebanon from negotiations for an agreement with Iran.
Regarding Tuesday’s attacks—carried out by U.S. forces against targets in Iran, which retaliated by striking neighboring countries—Trump argued that this did not constitute a violation of the bilateral ceasefire in effect since April 8, but merely “a few incidents, nothing serious.”
“We had the situation under control; we resolved the problem quickly, as the best armed forces in the world do,” the U.S. president assured.
“I would say that, in this part of the world, a ceasefire means that people shoot at each other in a more moderate way,” he added.
Kuwait briefly closed its main airport after Iranian drones severely damaged a passenger terminal, killing one person and injuring dozens. The airport had reopened on Monday after months of closure due to the war.
In an interview with the New York Post podcast published on Wednesday, Trump stated that authorities in Tehran “have already agreed that they will not have nuclear weapons.”
“Yes, they agreed to that. I mean, they might change their minds, but that was one of the things they had to agree to. That was the main point,” he said.
Trump remained evasive regarding a timeline for resolving the conflict with Iran, stating that the Strait of Hormuz could remain blocked.
