With the end of two two-week Iran-US truce just days away, US President Donald Trump's latest remarks on the Middle East war are adding to optimism that the Iran war could be nearing an end even though the last round of talks between Tehran and Washington in Islamabad, Pakistan collapsed with no deal.
But now Trump has made a series of remarks which have created hope amid flaring tensions in the Middle East that started with US-Israel strikes on Iran on February 28.Thousands of lives have been lost since then and oil prices have soared since then as Strait of Hormuz, a key energy passage, has emerged as a flashpoint between the two sides.
Latest has been Trump hinting at a possibility that he might visit Pakistan to finalise the peace deal with Iran.
‘Pakistan has been great’
The US President heaped praise on Pakistan when a reporter asked him if he would visit the country to seal the deal with Iran. “I would. I would go to Pakistan, yeah. Pakistan has been great. They've been so good. Islamabad, I'll be—I might go. Yeah. If the deal is signed in Islamabad, I might go,” he said.
He went on to appreciate the Pakistani leadership, including Army chief Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. “The field marshal has been great. The prime minister has been really great in Pakistan. So I might go. They want me,” Trump said.
Sharing an update on the next round of talks between Iran and the US, Trump indicated that the next in-person round may happen soon.
"Probably maybe over the weekend," the US President added.
He also expressed optimism about the progress of negotiations, suggesting that a deal could be announced soon and may have wider economic implications.
"I think we have a very successful negotiation going on right now," he said. "If it happens, it'll be announced fairly soon, and that'll give us free oil, free Hormuz Strait, everything will be nice. And I think your oil price will go down to lower than what it was before."
Trump says Iran war 'should be ending pretty soon’
At an event in Nevada, Trump said he was feeling pretty positive about the Iran war, despite the energy price spikes, the death and destruction and the anxiety about the future of NATO and the Middle East.
“I will say the war in Iran is going along swimmingly,” Trump said. “It should be ending pretty soon.”
Trump added that the war was “was perfect” as he praised the power of the US military.
Trump also said that Iran has agreed to give back the nuclear dust to the US. “They’ve agreed to give us back the nuclear dust that’s way underground because of the attack we made with the B-2 bombers,” said Trump, using a term he’s adopted as shorthand for the roughly 970 pounds of enriched uranium buried under Iranian nuclear sites damaged by US strikes on the country last year.