California, Aug. 5 (ANI): U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday (local time) that “a lot of progress” had been made with Iran and claimed that Tehran had reached out seeking talks, adding that the situation would become clearer within the next 48 hours, Fox News reported.
“We’re moving along very nicely. We’ll find out. We’ll know in 48 hours, I would say,” Trump told reporters as he departed Los Angeles for Las Vegas as part of a two-day West Coast trip.
Trump said Iranian officials had contacted the United States and expressed interest in negotiations, suggesting Tehran would be “very smart” to reach an agreement.
“A lot of progress has been made. They called me, and they said, ‘Please, let’s talk.’ They want to talk. The funny thing is, they never mention that. … I think they’d be very smart to make a deal. We’ll see what happens,” he said.
Trump’s remarks come amid uncertainty over the possibility of renewed U.S.-Iran engagement. While he did not provide details about the reported contacts or the nature of a potential agreement, he said developments could become clearer within 48 hours.
The president is traveling to Los Angeles and Las Vegas during his two-day West Coast trip to promote his economic agenda, highlight the Working Families Tax Cuts, and campaign ahead of the November midterm elections.
On Tuesday (local time), Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would reopen “very soon” as part of a deal involving Iran and Oman, while warning that the Islamic Republic would be “hit really hard” if it failed to reach an agreement during talks on an interim arrangement aimed at easing regional tensions.
He also reiterated that Iran would not be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon and linked the reopening of the strategic waterway to ongoing diplomatic efforts.
During an interview with Fox News, Trump said, “Iran, as an example, will never have a nuclear weapon. They already can’t, but it’s going to be formal. The strait’s going to be open very soon, or they’re going to get hit very hard, and then the strait’s going to be open.”
His comments came as the United States, Iran, and Oman were reportedly close to finalizing an interim agreement aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which has experienced heightened tensions following the collapse of a 14-point memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran last month, Axios reported, citing two regional sources and a U.S. official. (ANI)
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