Trump: The Iranians are beginning to admit defeat and are begging to reach an agreement
US President Donald Trump on Thursday that the war with Iran was well ahead of schedule and that the Iranians were begging to reach an agreement.
Trump said during a meeting at the White House alongside senior officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
He added: “We estimated that completing our mission would take between 4 and 6 weeks. After 26 days, we are very far ahead, much ahead of schedule.”.
He added that “the Iranian regime is now beginning to acknowledge that it has suffered a decisive defeat.”.
Trump continues to criticize NATO
Trump has been asserting for days that Iran wants to reach an agreement, amid growing indications that he is seeking to end the war quickly, while Tehran insists that there are no direct negotiations.
The US president also leveled fresh criticism at his NATO allies after they rejected his calls to send naval vessels to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping lane that Iran has effectively closed in response to US-Israeli attacks.
Trump said: “I’ll say it publicly, we are very disappointed with NATO, because they have done absolutely nothing.”.
He was particularly critical of Britain, arguing that its offer to send aircraft carriers came too late, and describing its ships as toys compared to their American counterparts.
A list of procedures consisting of 15 items
During the meeting, US envoy Steve Wittkopf confirmed for the first time from the US side that Washington had sent Iran a list of 15 measures via Pakistan as an intermediary.
Wittkopf, who led unsuccessful negotiations with Iran before the strikes began, said there were indications that Tehran was ready to make a deal.
He added: “We will see where things lead, and whether we can convince Iran that this is a radical turning point, and that it no longer has good options other than more death and destruction. We have strong indications that this is possible.”.
