Trump has declared a US victory in Iran repeatedly since early on in the conflict that has lasted six weeks and the failed negotiations over the weekend show no sign of a deal being struck
US President Donald Trump has said that he believes war with Iran almost over, despite failed negotiations between the countries over the weekend.
Trump told the Fox Business Network he thinks the conflict as nearing an end and said Iran was keen to make a deal.
“I think it’s close to over, yeah,” he said. “I view it as very close to being over,” Trump added.
“If I pulled up stakes right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country,” he said in an interview which is due to air on Wednesday, April 16.
“And we’re not finished. We’ll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal very badly.”
Asked by FOX’s Mornings with Maria anchor Maria Bartiromo during the interview whether the war is over, Trump said: “I think it’s close to over, yeah. I mean I view it as very close to over.”
Trump has declared a US victory in Iran repeatedly since early on in the conflict. He has told the New York Post that a second round of talks could happen “over the next two days” and that the negotiations could be held again in Islamabad, Pakistan.
The short-term Iran and US ceasefire will expire next week.
The US and Iran have been in conflict since February 28 when joint US-Israeli strike were carried out on several key sites across Iran. Iran retaliated by striking sites across the Middle East and closing critical oil trade route the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military on Monday began its blockade of Iranian ports in an effort to stop Iran’s closure of the strait and pressure the country into a deal.
Vice President JD Vance, speaking at an event in Georgia on Tuesday, said that Trump “doesn’t want to make, like, a small deal. He wants to make the grand bargain”.
“That’s the trade that he’s offering,” he said. “If you guys commit to not having a nuclear weapon, we are going to make Iran thrive.”
Pakistan finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told The Associated Press on Tuesday “our leadership is not giving up” on its efforts to help the US and Iran negotiate.
“We would very much like to see if we can continue to pursue the dialogue,” he added, speaking on the side-lines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. “We’ll keep at it, and our leadership is at it.”
United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres said it is “highly probable” that talks will restart. He cited a meeting he had with Pakistan’s deputy prime minister, Ishaq Dar.
