Donald Trump signals Iran negotiations as US prepares third troop surge to Middle East
Conflicting signals emerge as the US claims talks with Iran, while tensions across the Gulf remain high.
US President Donald Trump says Washington is in talks with Iran to end the war, even as the Pentagon prepares to deploy thousands of additional troops to the Middle East.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Mr Trump said senior members of his administration were engaged in negotiations with Iranian officials and suggested Tehran was seeking an agreement.
“We’re in negotiations right now,” he said.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“They’re doing it along with (Secretary of State) Marco (Rubio), (Vice President) JD (Vance) — we have a number of people involved. And I can tell you, the other side would like to make a deal.”
The comments come amid conflicting signals from Washington and Tehran about whether discussions are actually taking place. Iranian officials have publicly denied direct talks, with the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, dismissing reports of negotiations as “fake news”.
Mr Trump has also indicated confidence in the United States’ military position, telling reporters: “We’re roaming free over Tehran – the city, not Iran the country. We can do whatever we want.”
He added that Iran had offered what he described as a “very big present worth a tremendous amount of money” related to developments involving the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route for oil and gas.
“They did something yesterday that was amazing — they gave us a present… that arrived today,” he said.
Mr Trump also claimed Iran had agreed to never develop nuclear weapons, despite longstanding denials from Tehran that its uranium enrichment program is intended for military purposes.
“They’re not going to have a nuclear weapon and we’re talking about that. I don’t want to say in advance, but they’ve agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon, they’ve agreed to that,” he said.
The diplomatic developments come as US media report that up to 3,000 additional troops from the 82nd Airborne Division could be deployed to the region, marking the third increase in American forces since the war began.
Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Council is set to hold a rare urgent debate on Iran’s strikes across the Gulf region, after Bahrain requested the session on behalf of Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Jordan.
“Our countries are not party to the armed conflict, nor have we taken part in military aggression or attacks,” Bahrain’s ambassador Abdulla Abdullatif Abdulla told the council.
“These Iranian attacks have targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure, leading to very many innocent victims.”
More to come...
