US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he would cancel his agenda, which included attending his son’s wedding, and flying straight to the White House due to “circumstances pertaining to the government.”
Trump said that he “very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon-to-be wife, Bettina,” but couldn’t due to undisclosed situations, explaining that it was vital for him to stay in Washington during “these historic moments.”
Trump’s comments came hours before making a speech in Suffern, New York, with his agenda also including a trip to his Bedminster Golf Club in New Jersey before going to the Bahamas for the wedding.
In his speech, the US president said that the conflict with Iran “will be over soon” and that “oil prices will go down,” without going into details about the current state of the negotiations.
He is due to fly back to Washington after the speech, with his agenda moved to the White House until further notice.
Axios reported that Trump met with members of his security cabinet on Friday before traveling to Suffern, where he was briefed on various diplomatic and military options for dealing with Iran.
The report mentions that Trump is growing increasingly impatient with the negotiations, with sources saying that he will likely order a strike on Iran if there is no breakthrough in the next 24 hours.
No deal if US insists on nuclear issue, Baghaei says
Earlier on Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei reportedly told state media outlet Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) that no conclusion will be reached in US-Iran peace negotiations if the US insists on discussing Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium.
“The negotiations are focused on ending the war, and the issues related to the nuclear issue are not going to be discussed in detail at this stage,” Baghaei stated. “Therefore, if we try to go into the details of this issue at this stage, we will not reach a conclusion.”
Baghaei claimed that US demands aimed at tempering Iran’s nuclear ambitions were “unreasonable” and “excessive,” blaming the American efforts for causing previous peace negotiations to collapse.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency also reported that an Iranian negotiator said the main focus of the negotiations currently sits on “ending the war,” and that “until this issue is finalized, no other issues will be negotiated.”
“Discussions and consultations on the disputed issues are still ongoing, and a final result has not yet been reached,” the source reportedly told Tasnim, adding that exchanges are still being made through the Pakistani mediators.
“There has been progress on some issues compared to before, but until all the disputed issues are resolved, there will be no agreement,” he emphasized, and said that reports about details of a deal were “not accurate.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that the United States has seen some progress in talks with Iran and is in constant communication with the Pakistani mediators, but there is more work to be done.
“There’s been some progress. I wouldn’t exaggerate it. I wouldn’t diminish it,” Rubio told reporters after a NATO ministers meeting in Sweden. “There’s more work to be done. We’re not there yet. I hope we get there,” he added.
Goldie Katz and Reuters contributed to this report.
