In an interview with the New York Post podcast Pod Force One, Trump said he believes Iran’s supreme leader is “involved, absolutely” in decisions on how to end the war.
“I’d love to meet everybody. I would like to meet him, and we probably will meet at some point, depending on how it all works out,” Trump said.
The US president said he remains optimistic about reaching a deal with Iran “fairly quickly,” while highlighting record-high stock market levels and arguing that the US economy remains resilient despite predictions of sharply higher oil prices.
“Everyone said it was going to be $300, $400 a barrel, it’s $98 a barrel, but that’s not a big price to pay if you look at the possibility of them having a nuclear weapon,” he said.
He added that talks with Iran are “rapidly evolving” and said, “It is not going to have a nuclear weapon and lots of other good things are going to happen.”
However, Trump suggested that a US naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz could remain in place through US Labor Day on 7 September, which, the Post noted, could mean a full summer of elevated fuel prices and potential political fallout for Republicans in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
“I don’t know. I mean, I think it could be [closed through Labor Day], but I think it’s unlikely. I think that we’ll have it. I think this will resolve itself fairly quickly,” he said.
Separately, Trump confirmed in an interview with The Post’s Miranda Devine that he called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “f–king crazy” during a Monday phone call, but insisted the two continue to work very well together.
“I was a little bit perturbed at his constantly fighting with Lebanon,” Trump said.
The Israeli escalation in Lebanon has complicated negotiations aimed at extending a ceasefire linked to the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, with Tehran seeking an end to the fighting in Lebanon as part of any broader agreement.
Two Iranian news agencies reported on Tuesday that Tehran had suspended communications with mediators involved in ceasefire efforts.
“We’ve worked very well together. I like Bibi a lot. And I work very well with him,” Trump said, after confirming his fiery outburst demanding that Netanyahu hold fire.
“I’m a wartime president… he’s a wartime prime minister,” he added.
The Axios news site reported that Trump launched a profane tirade during the call with Netanyahu over Israel’s threats to bomb Beirut, fearing it could undermine talks with Tehran.
"You're f--king crazy. You'd be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this," Axios quoted Trump as shouting at Netanyahu in the call on Monday.
It underscored the increasingly shaky ties between two allies with lots to lose politically from their war against Iran -- and both facing criticism for being in hock to the other.
Trump wants a way out of a war that has badly hit the US economy less than six months before the midterm elections, which will decide if his Republican party keeps control of Congress.
The second-term Republican president, 79, also faces growing criticism from parts of his Make America Great Again (MAGA) coalition that he is doing Israel's bidding in the war.
Israel's prime minister, meanwhile, faces the possible collapse of his right-wing coalition and is under fire for bowing to Trump on matters of security after calling off a plan to attack Beirut.
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