Trump Says Iran Talks Will Resume Monday, Calls Deal “Imminent”
The US president said negotiations would focus on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program, while warning that Washington remains prepared to resume military action.
US President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran were scheduled to resume Monday afternoon, following his decision to call off a major planned US attack on the Islamic Republic.
“The deal is imminent, having to do with the Hormuz Strait and also, ultimately, the denuclearization of Iran,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Trump did not disclose where the negotiations would take place, who would participate or how quickly an agreement would need to be reached. Reuters reported that he declined to establish a deadline.
Asked whether he preferred an agreement to renewed military action, Trump said: “Would I rather make a deal? I'm not looking to kill people because people die, a lot of people die, and we don't want that.”
The president said the United States had been prepared to launch a massive attack on Iran before appeals from Gulf leaders and Iranian officials persuaded him to give diplomacy additional time.
“It would be the biggest attack since World War II,” Trump said, adding that the planned operation would have been disastrous for Iran.
Trump said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had warned him that the consequences of a major attack could be unpredictable.
“We would much prefer a deal as opposed to an attack, because you don’t know where these attacks lead,” Trump said while recounting the Saudi position.
According to Trump, some members of his administration favored proceeding immediately with the strikes, while others supported allowing negotiations to continue. He nevertheless stressed that the US military remains ready to act if the diplomatic effort fails.
The proposed negotiations are expected to address the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping and restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program. Iranian officials separately said discussions with Oman concerning shipping through the strait were in their final stages, although Tehran disputed claims that it had agreed to restore the waterway to its prewar status.