Trump says Iran wants to make a deal, as his aides depart for 2nd round of nuclear talks

US President Donald Trump says he thinks Iran wants to make a deal, in comments made to reporters as his top aides Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner depart for Geneva where American and Iranian negotiators will meet on Tuesday for a second round of nuclear talks.

“I’ll be involved in those talks indirectly, and they’ll be very important,” Trump says aboard Air Force One.

Calling the Iranians “tough negotiators,” Trump says he hopes “they’re going to be more reasonable” than they were during last year’s talks, which didn’t result in a deal and instead saw the US strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“I think they want to make a deal. I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,” Trump says.

He is also asked about Thursday’s Board of Peace meeting, Trump says it will “go far beyond Gaza.”

The president then reiterates that he’d like the board to work with the UN amid fears that Washington is trying to use the body to usurp the UN.

Asked if Israel should lift its ban on foreign media being able to independently report in Gaza, Trump dodges the question.

“We’ll be lifting a lot of bands pretty soon,” he says.

“I think you’re going to see everything opening up… You have some flames here and there, but we essentially have peace in the Middle East,” Trump says.