U.S. President Donald Trump meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, on 14 May 2025 (Credit: Bandar al-Jaloud/Saudi Royal Palace/AFP)
U.S. President Donald Trump told the New York Post on Monday that he is no longer hopeful that his negotiators will be able to reach a deal with Iran on nuclear enrichment, ahead of the sixth round of talks between the two countries, scheduled to take place sometime this week.
“They seem to be delaying, and I think that’s a shame, but I’m less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago," Trump told the host of the NY Post's "Pod Force One" podcast, in an episode released Wednesday. "Something happened to them, but I am much less confident of a deal being made.”
When asked by the Post's Miranda Devine why his outlook had shifted, Trump responded: “Well, if they don’t make a deal, they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump answered. “If they do make a deal, they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon, too, you know?"
“But it would be nicer to do it without warfare, without people dying. It’s so much nicer to do it [that way]," Trump added. "But I don’t think I see the same level of enthusiasm for them to make a deal. I think they would make a mistake, but we’ll see. I guess time will tell.”
Also on Monday, Iran said it would soon be handing a counter-proposal for a nuclear deal to the U.S. in response to its latest offer, which Tehran deems "unacceptable," Reuters reported. Trump made clear that the two sides remained at odds over whether the country would be allowed to continue enriching uranium on Iranian soil.
On Wednesday, Iran's defense minister said that if nuclear negotiations were to fail and conflict arose with the United States, Iran would strike American bases in the region, a threat that Trump has repeatedly made toward Iran, threatening his own army would bomb the country if negotiations fell through.
"Some officials on the other side threaten conflict if negotiations don't come to fruition," Iranian minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said during a weekly press briefing. "If a conflict is imposed on us ... all U.S. bases are within our reach and we will boldly target them in host countries."
The next round of talks is due this week, with Trump saying negotiations would be held on Thursday while Tehran says they will take place on Sunday in Oman.