WASHINGTON DC - United States President Donald Trump told Rudaw on Thursday that Washington currently has “a very good relationship with Iran,” as the two countries observe a ceasefire and engage in talks to end the war.
“We are very close to making a deal with Iran,” Trump said. “You will be the first to know. But I think we have a chance.”
Trump added that a deal with Iran would lead to a sharp drop in energy prices.
“If that happens, oil goes way down, prices go way down, inflation goes way down, and, even more importantly than that, you will not have a nuclear holocaust,” the US president said.
The United States has imposed a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz in a bid to choke off Iran’s main source of revenue - oil exports - effectively cutting the country off from global maritime trade.
The move by the Trump administration is aimed at increasing economic pressure on Iran after weeks of US-Israeli strikes failed to persuade Tehran to end the war on Washington’s terms.
In response to questions from Rudaw’s Kurda, Trump described the blockade as “more powerful than the bombing,” adding that the US is “doing very well with the blockade.”
“No ship is even thinking about entering it,” he said.
The Pentagon confirmed during a Thursday briefing that the naval blockade applies to all vessels, regardless of nationality, traveling to or from Iranian ports. Officials said such ships could be targeted both within Iranian territorial waters and in international waters.
Iran warned on Wednesday that it could close the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab in the Red Sea if the US blockade remains in place - a threat that risks further undermining already fragile prospects for renewed dialogue.
Speaking to reporters, Trump also claimed that Iran has agreed to hand over its stockpile of enriched uranium.
“They’ve agreed to give us back the nuclear dust,” he said at the White House, using his term for the enriched uranium stockpile that the US says could be used to build nuclear weapons.
“There’s a very good chance we’re going to make a deal.”
Trump’s latest remarks and softer rhetoric come as a Pakistan-brokered, two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran has taken effect, following nearly 40 days of conflict that began on February 28, when the US and Israel launched a joint aerial campaign targeting sites across Iran.
Several senior Iranian leaders and commanders were killed in the initial strikes, including former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In response, Tehran launched thousands of drone and missile attacks across the Middle East, targeting alleged US assets - particularly in Gulf Arab states - as well as carrying out retaliatory strikes against Israel.
Trump said on Monday that American forces destroyed 158 Iranian naval vessels during the conflict, which erupted in late February and lasted nearly 40 days.