President Trump stated that while Iran is signaling a desire to negotiate a ceasefire, he is not yet ready to make a deal because the terms aren’t good enough yet; however he declined to say what those terms would be. He expressed the view that he is working with countries on a plan to secure the Strait of Hormuz amid surges in global oil prices, and he dismissed American’s concerns about rising gas prices since the US and Israel launched their joint military operations.
In a wide-ranging, nearly 30-minute telephone interview with NBC News, Trump said he was unwilling to make a deal to end the war with Iran at this stage. On that point he said: “Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” adding that any terms “will have to be very solid.”
When asked what the terms of a potential deal to end the war would be, the president responded, “ I don’t want to say that to you.” However, he agreed that a commitment from Iran to completely abandon any nuclear ambitions would be part of it.”
The president said Saturday that US allies in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia-have been terrific and added that “they got shot at unnecessarily.”
“I was very surprised,” Trump said about Iran targeting other Middle Eastern countries, adding it was the biggest surprise I had of this whole thing.”
At present, the US has not disclosed data on the number of drones it faces or intercepts but data from the UAE indicates that 1,475 unmanned aerial vehicles had been fired at the country as of March 10.
UAE minister of State Lana Nusseibeh said that her country had responded well to a “really, disgusting, illegal overreach from Iran, which included strikes shockingly aimed at civilian infrastructure.” The UAE did not want this war but is “fully and assertively” defending itself, she added.
Given the gravity of the ongoing situation-Trump- who repeatedly attacked Joe Biden over high gas prices in 2024- dismissed concerns on Saturday about whether gas prices in the US could hurt Republicans in the upcoming midterm.
“I think they’ll go lower than they were before, and I had them at record lows, “Trump said about gas prices, promising that they would drop soon after the war in Iran ends.”
Despite the Iranian leadership’s reported willingness to discuss terms regarding their regional influence, the current military approach is likely to continue, even with the risk of high global oil prices and further regional instability.
