Trump says Iran has come closer to US position in talks, but not enough on nuclear matter

US President Donald Trump reiterates his claim that Iran has moved closer to Washington’s position in talks, but has still not gone far enough with regard to the nuclear file.

“They’ve come a long way. The question is whether or not they’re going to go far enough. At this moment, there will never be a deal unless they agree that there will be no nuclear weapons,” Trump tells reporters in the Oval Office.

He claims talks with Iran are ongoing, while not specifying if they’re being held through mediators, as is assumed to be the case.

Trump again argues that it is not necessary for his negotiators to fly all the way to mediating Pakistan in order to hold talks that can be conducted over the phone.

Asked whether the Iran or Russia-Ukraine war will end first, Trump responds, “Maybe they’re on a similar timetable.”

Neither war appears to have a definitive end in sight, though, as Iran refuses Washington’s demands for it to permanently give up all enrichment capabilities and hand over its stockpiles of enriched uranium.

It has instead offered a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while pushing off talks on the nuclear file — an exchange that Trump has rejected.

Trump reiterates that Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to help with the Iran talks by holding onto Iran’s uranium stockpiles, but the US president says he’d prefer Moscow focus on ending its war with Ukraine.

Asked about the United Arab Emirates’ decision to withdraw from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Trump says it’s “great.”

“It’s a good thing for getting the price of gas down, getting oil down, getting everything down,” Trump says, without elaborating.