Trump: Iran Wants to Make Deal to End War

President Donald Trump on Monday said the U.S. was talking with a “respected” Iranian leader and claimed the Islamic Republic was eager for a deal to end the war.

Trump told reporters that Iran wants “to make a deal,” and claimed U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner had held talks with an Iranian leader Sunday.

“We have had very, very strong talks. We'll see where they lead. We have points, major points of agreement. I would say almost all points of agreement,” Trump told reporters.

“The discussions took place yesterday. They went into yesterday evening. They want very much to make a deal. We'd like to make a deal, too. We're going to get together today, probably by phone.”

He did not say who was representing Iran but said the U.S. has not talked to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

“We're dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader. You know, it's a little tough. We’ve wiped out everybody.”

Trump said if a deal is reached, the U.S. would move to take Iran’s enriched uranium, which is critical to its disputed nuclear program. Iran has adamantly refused such demands in the past, insisting it has the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.

“We want to see no nuclear bomb, no nuclear weapon, not even close to it. We want to see peace in the Middle East. We want the nuclear dust. We're going to want that. And I think we're going to get that. We've agreed to that,” Trump said. 

Iranian state media cited Iranian officials as denying any such talks, and said Trump had backed down “following Iran’s firm warning.”

However, Trump told reporters Iran initiated the latest round of talks.

"So they called. I didn't call, they called. They want to make a deal. And we are very willing to make a deal. It's got to be a good deal. And it's got to be no more wars, no more nuclear weapons. They're not going to have nuclear weapons anymore. They're agreeing to that," Trump said. 

He added, "My life is a deal. That's all I do is deals my whole life. I think this is something that's going to happen. And why wouldn't it happen?"

Turkey and Egypt meanwhile said they had spoken to the warring parties, the first sign of coordinated mediation from the regional heavyweights.

The war has already seen several dramatic turning points — the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, the bombing of a key Iranian gas field, and strikes targeting oil and gas facilities and other civilian infrastructure in Gulf Arab nations.

The conflict has killed more than 2,000 people, shaken the global economy, sent oil prices surging, and endangered some of the world’s busiest air corridors.

The latest threatened attacks could have cut electricity to millions of people in Iran and around the Gulf, and knocked out desalination plants that provide many desert nations with drinking water. There are also increasing concerns about the consequences of any strikes on nuclear facilities.

Trump said over the weekend that the U.S. would “obliterate” Iran’s power plants unless the country releases its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all traded oil passes, within 48 hours — a deadline that would have expired late Monday Washington time.

In extending the deadline by five days, Trump said the suspension was “subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions.” In Tehran, the state-owned IRAN newspaper reported that Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied there had been any talks.

“Remarks by the U.S. president are part of efforts to reduce energy prices and buy time to implement his military plans,” the newspaper said.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he spoke by phone with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan. Turkey has been an intermediary in past talks between Tehran and Washington.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment Monday on whether the country had relayed messages between Iran and the U.S. On Sunday, however, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held telephone calls with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi as well as counterparts from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, and the European Union. Turkish officials also said he spoke with U.S. officials as part of efforts to end the war, without providing further details.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi meanwhile said Cairo has delivered “clear messages” to Iran focusing on de-escalating the conflict, according to his office. Egypt says it has intensified its efforts to de-escalate the war in the Middle East. Egypt's Foreign Ministry said it was making “constant efforts and communications” with all parties in recent days.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard had promised retaliation if Trump made good on his threat, saying Iran would hit power plants in all areas that supply electricity to American bases, “as well as the economic, industrial and energy infrastructures in which Americans have shares.”

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Iran would consider vital infrastructure across the region to be legitimate targets, including desalination facilities critical for drinking water in Gulf nations.

Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guard, published a list of such facilities, including the United Arab Emirates’ nuclear power plant. Over the weekend, Iran launched missiles targeting the city of Dimona in Israel, near a facility key to its long-suspected atomic weapons program. The Israeli facility wasn’t damaged.

In the wake of Trump's turnaround, Fars and the Tasnim news agencies portrayed the American president as backing down.

“Since the start of the war, messages have been sent to Tehran by some mediators, but Iran’s clear response has been that it will continue its defense until the required level of deterrence is achieved,” Tasnim’s report said. “With this kind of psychological warfare, neither the Strait of Hormuz will return to prewar conditions nor will calm return to energy markets.”

With the U.S. deploying more amphibious assault ships and additional Marines to the Middle East, Iran's Defense Council warned against any ground attack, saying it would “lead to the mining of all access routes.”

Trump has said he has no plans to send ground forces into Iran but has not ruled it out. Israel has suggested its ground forces could take part in the war.

Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz has wreaked havoc on energy markets and pushed up prices of food and other goods well beyond the Middle East.

“No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction,” said Fatih Birol, the head of the Paris-based International Energy Agency.

Oil prices were stubbornly high in early trading Monday, but plunged after Trump's announcement.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, a senior United Nations official, said the world has already seen a ripple effect, including “exponential price hikes in oil, fuel and gas” that have had a far-reaching impact on millions, primarily in Asian and African developing countries.

“There is no military solution,” he said.

Israel launched new attacks Monday on the Iranian capital, saying it had “begun a wide-scale wave of strikes” on infrastructure targets in Tehran without immediately elaborating. Explosions were heard in multiple locations in the afternoon. It wasn’t immediately clear what had been hit.

The United Arab Emirates said it was attempting to intercept new incoming Iranian fire Monday afternoon.

Israel is also battling the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, while the group has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel.

In recent days, Israel has hit many apartment buildings in Beirut and bombed bridges over the Litani River in the Lebanon’s south.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the targeting of bridges “a prelude to a ground invasion,” while Egypt denounced the strikes as the “collective punishment” of civilians for the actions of Hezbollah.

The U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, said Monday that a building at its headquarters in the coastal town of Naqoura was struck by a projectile, which the force believes “was fired by a non-state actor,” an apparent reference to Hezbollah.

There have been battles between Hezbollah and Israeli forces at multiple points along the border. The UNIFIL statement said that “over the past 48 hours, peacekeepers have recorded intense gunfire and explosions” in the Naqoura area and “bullets, fragments, and shrapnel have hit buildings and open areas inside our headquarters.”

Authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1 million.

Iran’s death toll has surpassed 1,500, its Health Ministry has said. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian strikes. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed, along with more than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states.