Negotiations between the US and Iran remain ongoing, President Donald Trump said early Tuesday morning, just hours after Iran and Israel agreed to halt attacks on one another that threatened to shatter a shaky ceasefire.
Trump said the talks with Tehran did not stop during the escalation in violence, signaling that a deal to formally end the war could be reached within “one or two days from now, but I think it’s going well.”
“They were going back and forth, and now they both agreed through me to stop, and we’re in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal that will not allow in any way, shape, or form nuclear weapons, etc.,” the US president told reporters as he prepared to return to the White House after attending an NBA finals game in New York.
He said that Israel and Iran will leave each other alone for at least a week after he had a “very good conversation” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“He (Netanyahu) was hit, and he hit back, and I can’t blame him for that,” Trump said.
“But he was hit, he hit back, and now they’ve called it quits. So, they’re going to just leave each other alone for another week or something,” Trump said.
“I think we’re … very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal,” Trump said.
“The Strait (of Hormuz) will open up right away, it’ll open up immediately upon signing, which could be in two or three days,” he added.
Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28. A fragile ceasefire brokered in April had its strongest test to date on Sunday when Israel bombed the Lebanese capital Beirut, despite another ceasefire in the country.
The Israeli strike prompted Iran to launch missiles toward northern Israel in response, while Israel carried out several waves of airstrikes against Iran.
Iran’s military said early Monday that it was halting attacks on Israel while warning of a “crushing” response if Israeli attacks on Lebanon continued. Israeli media, citing unnamed officials, reported that Israel had agreed to halt airstrikes on Iran but would continue military operations in southern Lebanon.
