Trump Expresses Uncertainty About Brokering Deal With Iran

President Donald Trump said he’s unsure about reaching a diplomatic agreement with Iran, another signal the two sides remain at loggerheads about efforts to end the nearly month-long war.

“I say they’re lousy fighters, but they’re great negotiators, and they are begging to work out a deal,” Trump said Thursday during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to do that. I don’t know if we’re willing to do that.”

Trump earlier Thursday threatened to escalate military action against Tehran if the government there didn’t come to the negotiating table, posting on social media that it had “better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t be pretty!”

Tehran has shown little signs that it is willing to negotiate with Washington having attached a string of pre-conditions for ending the conflict to a 15-point US ceasefire proposal, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

“They now have the chance, that is Iran, to permanently abandon their nuclear ambitions and to chart a new path. We’ll see if they want to do it. If they don’t, we’re they’re worst nightmare,” Trump said.

Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff offered a bit more optimism than the president about the prospects of a deal, saying the 15-point plan that was circulated through the Pakistani government “has resulted in strong and positive messaging for talks.”

“We will see where things lead and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them, other than more death and destruction,” Witkoff said. “We have strong signs that this is a possibility.”

The president has set a four- to six-week timeline for military operations and said the US war effort is “extremely, really, a lot ahead of schedule.”

“We’ll see if we can make the right deal. And if they make the right deal, then the strait will open up,” Trump said, referring to the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil tankers.

Still, the president conceded, “even now, we don’t know if there are any mines” in the strait.