The president Donald Trump declared this Thursday that Iran "wants to make a deal" and that negotiations are progressing positively, with Tehran willing to accept conditions it flatly rejected two months ago.
"We are negotiating very well with them. We must ensure that there are no nuclear weapons. That is a key factor, and they are willing to do things today that they were not willing to do two months ago," stated Trump to the press.
The official also ruled out the existence of a time limit of 20 years in the agreement, thus responding to journalists' questions regarding that specific point in the negotiations.
"We have a very strong statement that they will not have nuclear weapons. There is no 20-year limit," Trump specified, clarifying that the condition is permanent and not subject to a moratorium with an expiration date.
Trump attributed part of the progress to the naval blockade imposed by the United States against Iranian ports on April 13 and 14, which estimates suggest costs Iran 400 million dollars daily in lost revenue.
"The blockade has been incredible, it has persisted, they are not doing any business... everything has gone, including their leaders. Now they have a new group of leaders and we find them very reasonable," noted the president.
The reference to the leaders points to the change in the Iranian leadership following the death of the supreme leader Alí Jamenei on March 1, 2026, during Operation Epic Fury, the joint offensive by the United States and Israel that destroyed the country's main nuclear facilities, including Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow.
After that military coup, the Assembly of Experts elected on March 9 Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the deceased leader, as the new Supreme Leader.
The formal negotiations held in Islamabad between April 10 and 12 failed after 21 hours of talks without reaching an agreement: Washington demanded the complete dismantling of the nuclear program and a 20-year moratorium on uranium enrichment, while Tehran only offered a five-year pause and requested 270 billion dollars in compensation.
Trump also linked negotiating optimism to favorable economic signals.
"The stock market is doing well, oil prices are falling, and everything indicates that we are going to make a deal with Iran, and it will be a good deal, a deal without nuclear weapons," he stated.
The president also expressed his optimism regarding the Lebanese front, where he anticipated an agreement between Israel and Lebanon within one or two weeks, alongside parallel efforts concerning Hezbollah.
"We are not going to have bombs falling, and we will see if we can make peace between Lebanon and Israel," Trump indicated.
These statements come one day after the United States warned that it is ready for a fight if Iran does not meet the required conditions, and following the UN's confirmation on April 14 that it was "very likely" to resume negotiations, possibly in Islamabad.
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