(AFP) – US President Donald Trump voiced optimism Monday that diplomacy with Iran could produce a deal to end the months-long war, but warned that Washington would resume military strikes if negotiations failed.
“I have a lot of patience… We’ll see what happens. I think there is a good chance that something could happen,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, when asked about possible progress in peace talks. “If it doesn’t, we go back to doing what we were doing two days ago.”
Iran and the United States have held their fire for three consecutive days after 13 nights of renewed US attacks, offering a narrow opening for diplomacy following the collapse of an earlier ceasefire agreement aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said Iranian leaders had requested a meeting and argued that “the only reason they want to meet is because we’ve been hitting them very hard.” Tehran, however, earlier denied that direct negotiations were under way, saying mediators were merely relaying messages from Washington.
The lull has eased pressure on global markets, but the conflict remains volatile. Saudi Arabia said Monday it had intercepted drones launched by Iran-linked groups in Iraq, while Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthi rebels claimed attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure.
Trump also dismissed concerns that five months of war had depleted US ammunition stocks. “We have a lot of ammunition,” he said. “We have a lot of the mid-level stuff too, more than we could ever use, no matter what.” He added that he would prefer larger reserves but complained that “so much was given to Ukraine” in its war with Russia.
Asked whether Saudi Arabia was considering joining the Abraham Accords, the US-brokered normalization agreements with Israel, Trump said: “We haven’t talked, no.” Trump faced wide-ranging questions on foreign policy, including about what would happen to money seized from Venezuela. Trump said it could be directed to the US military and suggested Washington could similarly extract funds from Iran.
“We are taking in a lot of money. Billions and billions of dollars,” he said. “That will happen with Iran too.”
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