WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Monday Washington was in “very deep talks with Iran” and warned that he is ready for “strong military action” if diplomacy failed.
“Not much time. Either it goes fast or not at all,” Trump told Axios when asked how long he was willing to give for talks.
Later on Monday, Trump told reporters that the US is having “good talks” with Iran “right now.”
Trump, on Air Force One on his way to Michigan, said he has “plenty of time” to deal with Iran. “There’s a good chance that something could happen,” Trump said about a potential deal with Iran.
The president also said he will ask Russia about providing satellite imagery to assist Iran. “I’ll ask Putin about it,” Trump said. “We’ll find out.”
Iran, meanwhile, said it was still in control of the Strait of Hormuz and not seeking to resume peace talks with the United States, after Trump halted a two-week bombing campaign that his top brass told him had run its course.
Following 13 successive nights of intensifying bombing that provoked Tehran to fire on US bases in response, Trump halted the campaign over the weekend.
Iran said it would suspend its own attacks for as long as the US pause endures. The end of the US bombing campaign sent oil prices tumbling in the hope that disrupted global supplies could resume flowing.
Brent crude, which had briefly ticked above $100 a barrel last week for the first time since May, plunged more than 8 percent by mid-morning on Monday to just under $89.
But in signs on Monday that Tehran may already be testing the effective new ceasefire, Jordan reported shooting down two drones and Iraqi security sources said drones had struck a base of Iranian Kurdish opposition fighters in northern Iraq. There were no reports of casualties in either incident.
