Trump says Iran is ready to negotiate an end to the war but is not ready to make a deal
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he is not ready to make an agreement to end the war with Iran even though the country is willing to do so “because the terms are not ready yet,” but he refused to say what those terms would be.
In a wide-ranging, nearly 30-minute phone interview with NBC News, the president also said he was working with other countries on a plan to protect the Strait of Hormuz amid rising global oil prices, and dismissed concerns of Americans over rising gas prices since the US and Israel launched their joint military operation two weeks ago.
The president also questioned whether Iran’s new leader is “alive”.
Trump said it was “amazing” that Iran decided to attack other countries in the Middle East in response to the US-Israeli operation, and that the US attack on the island of Kharg on Saturday “completely destroyed” a large part of the island but “we might hit it a few times for fun.”
He also criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying it was “more difficult to make a deal with him” than Russian President Vladimir Putin for efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Trump’s comments followed criticism from world leaders after the US eased sanctions on Russian oil in an effort to curb rising global oil prices.
Trump says he is not ready to make a deal with Iran
In the call, Trump said he is not ready to make a deal to end the war with Iran right now.
“Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to do it because the terms are not good enough,” he said, adding that any terms would have to be “very strong.”
When asked what the terms of an agreement that could end the war would be, the president replied: “I don’t want to tell you that.” But he acknowledged that Iran’s commitment to completely abandon any nuclear ambitions would be part of it.
Trump’s comments come after Reuters reported that the Trump administration had rejected efforts to advance talks to end the war.
He also previewed what a US military operation in Iran could look like. It started last month when Israeli and US forces launched joint strikes on the nation and Iran responded by attacking Israel and the US in neighboring countries. Thirteen US service members have died since the conflict began, including six US service members who died on Friday after their military refueling plane crashed in Iraq.
Trump administration officials have sent mixed messages over the past two weeks about what the U.S. military’s goals are in Iran and how long the conflict could last, with Trump sometimes saying it could last a month or more and other times saying “we’re ahead of the timetable” and “there’s almost nothing left to direct.”
On Saturday, the president said that “the only power they have, and the power that can be shut down relatively quickly, is the power to drop a mine or fire a relatively short-range missile.”
He added later: “We took out most of their missiles. We took out most of their drones. We took out their production of missiles and drones, especially. In two days, it will be completely finished.”
Defending the Strait of Hormuz
Trump on Saturday said he was asking “many countries that have been affected by Iranian criminals” to help secure the Strait of Hormuz – a key sea route for oil tankers – as global oil prices rise amid the war.
Meanwhile, Iran’s leaders have vowed to block the road and demand that oil prices rise since the conflict began.
The president said many countries have pledged to help prevent the scourge, but declined to name any of them.
“Not only did they volunteer, but they thought it was a good idea,” he said.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday morning, Trump wrote: “Many countries, especially those affected by Iran’s efforts to close the Strait of Hormuz, will send War Ships, in cooperation with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe,” he added:
In the call, Trump said it was unclear whether Iran had abandoned mines in the crisis.
“We will sweep this road with great force, and we believe that we will be joined by other countries that have been affected, and in some cases have been blocked from getting oil,” he added.
The president demurred when asked if the US Navy would begin escorting ships to port, saying, “I don’t want to tell you anything about that,” but adding that “it’s possible.”
The president also confirmed that US forces have carried out strikes on Kharg Island, an island off the coast of Iran that is home to an oil facility responsible for the country’s bulk oil exports.
The US Central Command said on Saturday morning that it had carried out “direct strikes” on 90 military targets while “protecting the oil infrastructure,” but Trump said later on Saturday that “we have completely destroyed Kharg Island, but we might hit it a few times for fun.”
“We have completely eliminated it,” added the president. “Except, as you know, I didn’t do anything to the power lines, because rebuilding would take years.”
Trump asks if Iran’s new leader is ‘alive’
The President on Saturday asked if Iran’s new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was alive after Khamenei did not appear on camera to issue his first statement as Iran’s leader on Thursday.
In a written statement, Khamenei, the son of his slain predecessor Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed to continue blocking the Strait of Hormuz and attacking America’s allies in the region.
“I don’t know if he’s alive. So far, no one has been able to show him,” Trump said on the phone on Saturday.
“I hear he’s not alive, and if he’s alive, he should do the smartest thing for his country, and that’s surrender,” Trump said, but called news of his death “rumors.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday said the younger Khamenei is “injured and possibly disabled” and called his written statement “weak.”
“Iran has a lot of cameras and a lot of tape recorders. Why is there a written statement? I think you know why. His father: he’s dead; he’s scared, he’s injured, he’s on the run, and he’s incompetent,” Hegseth added.
Khamenei was named supreme leader earlier this week after the first US-Israeli strike on Iran killed his father last week.
Trump declined to say whether there was a particular Iranian leader he would like to see take over as supreme leader, saying instead, “We have people alive who can be great leaders for the future of the country.”
When asked if he has contacts with potential leaders, the president said: “I don’t want to say that, I don’t want to put them in danger.”
Trump was ‘surprised’ that Iran targeted other countries in the Middle East
The president said on Saturday that America’s rivals in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, had “become worse” and were “unnecessarily fired upon.”
“I was very surprised,” Trump said of Iran’s targeting of other Middle Eastern countries, adding that it was “the biggest surprise I’ve had in this whole thing.”
According to an analysis by NBC News, Iran has been shooting drones at countries in the Middle East including those mentioned by Trump, as well as Bahrain and Kuwait, and targeting oil infrastructure, transport facilities and government institutions.
The US does not release data on the number of drones it is dealing with or participating in, but data from the UAE says 1,475 unmanned aerial vehicles have been shot down in the country since March 10.
On Saturday morning, Iraqi officials said an Iranian strike had downed a helicopter at the US Embassy in Baghdad. And on Saturday, after the US strikes on Kharg Island, Iran threatened to destroy the oil and gas infrastructure in the entire region if the US strikes the oil infrastructure on the island.
Trump ‘not concerned’ about rising gas prices
Trump, who in 2024 repeatedly attacked former President Joe Biden over high gas prices, dismissed concerns Saturday about whether rising US gas prices could hurt Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections.
“I think they’re going to be lower than they’ve ever been, and I’ve had them at a very low level,” Trump said of gas prices, which he promised would drop soon after the end of the war in Iran.
On March 1, the day after the US and Israel began attacking Iran, gas was about $2.94 a gallon in the US, per GasBuddy. On Saturday, the average price was $3.66.
“There’s a lot of oil, gas – there’s a lot out there, but you know, it’s closing in a little bit. It’s going to open up very soon,” the president added.
Asked directly if higher gas prices would affect the midterms, Trump said, “I don’t care at all.”
“The only thing I want to do is to make sure that Iran will not become a bully in the Middle East again,” he added.
Trump says Russia ‘probably’ shares information with Iran
Asked about his decision to temporarily lift sanctions on Russian oil amid rising global oil prices, the president said: “I want to have the world’s oil. I want to have the oil.”
He added that the sanctions, which were imposed when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. “it will go back as soon as the problem is over.”
On Saturday, when asked about criticism from other foreign leaders for lifting sanctions, Trump did not respond directly but directed his anger at the Ukrainian president, saying on the phone, “I’m surprised that Zelenskyy doesn’t want to make a deal. Tell Zelenskyy to make a deal because Putin is willing to make a deal.”
“Zelenskyy is very difficult to make a deal with,” said the American president.
Zelenskyy earlier this month offered to help the US military and its allies in the Middle East by intercepting Iranian drones, using the experience of the Ukrainian military in shooting down Russian drones.
But on Saturday, Trump said “we don’t need help,” adding that “the last person we need help from is Zelenskyy.”
The president declined to comment on whether the US had accepted Ukraine’s help with anti-drone technology.
In a letter he wrote to X on Friday, Zelenskyy wrote: “Countries in the Middle East have contacted us, asking to share our expertise in stopping Iranian ‘shahed’ drones during major strikes. That is why we have sent teams of experts to three countries.”
Earlier on Saturday, an Iranian diplomat said that Ukraine is a “legitimate and legitimate territory” of Iran because Ukraine has provided defense assistance against Iranian drones.
Asked to respond to reports that Russia is sharing intelligence with Iran about the location of US forces, Trump said, “Maybe Russia is providing information, maybe not.”
He added that the US is “doing that against them,” because “we are giving little information to Ukraine and trying to make peace between these two nations.”
