US President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that Iran is "dying to make a deal," adding that "hopefully it can be worked out very soon."
Asked about the future of negotiations, Trump replied, "Nobody knows what the talks are except myself and a couple of other people."
"I mean, Iran is dying to make a deal. I can only tell you that. I don't want to get into it, but they got - they cannot be nuclear other than that. But they are," he added.
Trump stressed, “The bottom line is for this world, for our country, but certainly for Israel, the Middle East and Europe, much closer, you cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon."
"They killed 42,000 innocent, non-weapon-carrying people... I'm trying to save that country... This is a rough group, but we have decimated them, and their economy is a disaster. So we'll see how long they hold out," he continued.
Trump last weekend cancelled a visit by his envoys to Islamabad for talks with Iran. On Wednesday, he told reporters that efforts to bring an end to the war with Iran are continuing through telephone conversations rather than in-person meetings.
“We have talks, we’re having talks with them now, and we’re not flying anymore with 18-hour flights every time we want to see a piece of paper," the president said.
“We’re doing it telephonically, and it’s very nice. I make a call, or I have my people make a call, and you know the answer in 15 - I always like face to face, you know, I consider it better," he continued. “But when you have to fly 18 hours every time you want to have a meeting, and you know what the meeting is all about, and you know they’re going to give you a piece of paper that you don’t like before you even leave, it’s ridiculous, and they’ve come a long way."
Trump’s comments were made after he rejected Iran’s most recent proposal, telling Axios that he intends to maintain a naval blockade on Iran until Tehran agrees to terms addressing American concerns over its nuclear program.
The Iranian proposal rejected by Trump envisions reopening the Strait of Hormuz while postponing discussions on Iran’s nuclear activities.
A US official told Reuters on Monday that Trump is not satisfied with the new Iranian proposal, citing its failure to adequately address Tehran’s nuclear program.
Trump on Thursday was to have received a briefing by CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper on fresh plans for possible military action against Iran.