Holding his first cabinet meeting since the start of the joint US-Israeli operation, Trump insisted that Iran was being "beat to shit" and was "begging" for a deal, despite Tehran's denials.
But Trump rejected reports that he was looking for an exit ramp, as oil prices soar and political pressure mounts to avoid the kind of drawn-out Middle East war he once spurned.
"I read a story today that I'm desperate to make a deal," Trump told reporters. "I'm the opposite of desperate. I don't care."
Trump has been saying for days that Iran wants to make a deal, amid growing signs he is seeking a quick end to the conflict. Iran, however, says there are no direct negotiations.
During the 90-minute televised meeting at the White House, Trump veered between repeated threats to "obliterate" Iran and claims it was on the verge of capitulating.
"They want to make a deal. The reason they want to make a deal is that they have just been beaten to shit," Trump said.
Citing the original timeframe of four to six weeks that he gave shortly after the US-Israeli offensive began on February 28, Trump said: "We're extremely, really, a lot ahead of schedule."
The US leader said Iran had allowed 10 oil tankers to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz as a "present" to show it was serious about negotiations to end the war.
But he then said that taking control of Iran's oil was an "option," as the United States effectively did with Venezuela after toppling Nicolas Maduro, who appeared in a US court on Thursday.
'Drummer gets wicked'
Trump's comments will once again fuel the speculation that has swirled since the start of the war about the 79-year-old's goals and timeline for the war.
The US-Iran talks have been shrouded in uncertainty since Trump first announced them on Monday and postponed a threat to attack Iran's power plants.
Trump's deadline for Iran to unblock the Strait of Hormuz or see its energy network hit is due to expire on Friday, but with just a day to go, he said he wasn't sure if he'd extend it.
"In Trump time, a day, you know what it is? That's an eternity," he said.
But Trump's global envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed for the first time that Washington had sent a 15-point "action list" via mediator Pakistan and said there were "strong signs" Iran might make a deal.
Trump, meanwhile, spent much of his time lambasting NATO and other allies for rejecting his appeals to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes.
He blasted the British aircraft carriers; London eventually offered them as "toys" compared to their US equivalents.
"I've done a great favour for the world. The world has not been reciprocal," Trump said. "I believe that's going to cost them dearly."
Trump's top officials also chimed in.
Top US diplomat Marco Rubio appeared to quote rappers Public Enemy as he said that "every day, the Department of War lets the drummer get wicked over every portion of Iran."
Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth hailed Trump for "doing the work of the free world."
"We pray for a deal, and we welcome a deal," Hegseth said. "But in the meantime...the Department of War will continue negotiating with bombs."
Iran responds to US plan
Iran has responded through unnamed intermediaries to a 15-point US plan to end the war, news agency Tasnim reported on Thursday, and is now waiting for Washington's reply.
The exact contents of the US plan, conveyed to Iran via Pakistan according to Pakistani officials, are not officially known.
"Iran's response to the 15 points proposed by the US was officially sent last night through intermediaries, and Iran is awaiting the other side's response," Tasnim reported, citing an informed source.
Citing an “informed source”, the news agency said Iran sent the response last night through intermediaries. In its response, Iran has stipulated its own conditions for an end to the conflict, which were also reported yesterday by other Iranian media outlets. Those conditions include:
- An end to “aggression and terror”.
- Guarantees preventing the recurrence of war against Iran.
- Compensation for war damage and reparations.
- End of war “on all fronts” and against “all resistance groups” across the Middle East.
- Recognition of Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, stating that it is Tehran’s “natural and legal right”.
Tasnim reported that these conditions are separate from the demands presented to the other side in the second round of talks in Geneva before the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran in February.
In further comments, translated from Persian below, the news agency said:
The informed source, however, stressed: "It is clear to Iran that the US claim of negotiation is merely a ‘third deception project’, and that the Americans are pursuing several objectives under the guise of their claim to negotiate: First, deceiving the world by presenting an apparently peace-loving image and a desire to end the war; second, keeping the price of oil low globally; and third, buying time to prepare for a new act of aggression in southern Iran via a ground invasion."
He noted: "If Iran had doubts about the outcome of the negotiations and America’s adherence to agreements before the 12-day war, since the 12-day war, it has had complete doubts about America’s very willingness to negotiate at any point. The Americans started the war during negotiations in both the 12-day war and the war of Ramadan, and this time too, under the guise of negotiations, they are seeking to lay the groundwork for a new crime."
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