Trump says 'Iran dying to make a deal, we'll see how long they hold out'
President Donald Trump said on Thursday Iran is "dying" to reach an agreement with the United States, while defending his military campaign and the naval blockade imposed after talks faltered.
“I mean, Iran is dying to make a deal. I can only tell you that,” Trump told reporters at the White House, adding: “They want to make a deal.”
Trump also rejected criticism of his approach, saying Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon. “The bottom line is for this world, for our country, but certainly for Israel, the Middle East and Europe, much closer, you cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
"They killed 42,000 innocent, non-weapon-carrying people... I'm trying to save that country... This is a rough group, but we have decimated them, and their economy is a disaster. So we'll see how long they hold out."
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iranians deserve a “new era” beyond what he called the Islamic Republic’s “corrupt and shambolic” rule, citing the collapse of Iran’s currency and strain on its oil industry under Washington’s pressure campaign.
“Amid the impact of Economic Fury, Iran’s currency has hit an all-time low,” Bessent wrote on X, referring to the US economic pressure campaign.
“The Iranian people deserve a new era, which the corrupt and shambolic Iranian regime cannot provide,” he added.
“With their oil industry closing and their currency plummeting, it is past time for the Iranian regime to concede that the people of Iran deserve much better than the ruins of their current regime can provide,” Bessent said.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf mocked the US naval blockade against Iran, arguing that the country’s borders are too vast to be sealed off.
“If you build two walls, one from NYC to the West Coast and another from LA to the East Coast, the total length will be 7,755 km, which is still about 1,000 km short of Iran’s total borders. Good luck blockading a country with those borders😁,” Ghalibaf wrote in a post on X.
In a jab at US War Secretary Pete Hegseth, he added: “P.S. For Pete Hegseth: 1 km = 0.62 mi.”
Iran's president and parliament speaker are seeking Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s removal, accusing him of following the Revolutionary Guard chief’s instructions in nuclear talks without informing the president, two sources familiar with the matter told Iran International.
President Masoud Pezeshkian and Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf believe Araghchi has in recent weeks acted less as a cabinet minister tasked with implementing government policy and more as an aide to Ahmad Vahidi, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, the sources said.
According to the sources who are familiar with ongoing discussions between the heads of Iran's executive and legislative branches, Araghchi has acted over the past two weeks without informing Pezeshkian, in full coordination with Vahidi and based on his directives.
The situation has caused deep dissatisfaction for Pezeshkian, who has told people close to him that he will dismiss Araghchi if it continues, the sources added.
Iran's president and parliament speaker are seeking Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s removal, accusing him of following the Revolutionary Guard chief’s instructions in nuclear talks without informing the president, two sources familiar with the matter told Iran International.
President Masoud Pezeshkian and Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf believe Araghchi has in recent weeks acted less as a cabinet minister tasked with implementing government policy and more as an aide to Ahmad Vahidi, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, the sources said.
According to the sources who are familiar with ongoing discussions between the heads of Iran's executive and legislative branches, Araghchi has acted over the past two weeks without informing Pezeshkian, in full coordination with Vahidi and based on his directives.
The situation has caused deep dissatisfaction for Pezeshkian, who has told people close to him that he will dismiss Araghchi if it continues, the sources said.
Reports of divisions among Islamic Republic officials had previously emerged. On March 28, reports pointed to serious disagreements between Pezeshkian and Vahidi, the Revolutionary Guards commander who is now said to be the most powerful figure in the force.
Informed sources told Iran International at the time that the dispute stemmed from “the handling of the war and its destructive consequences for people’s livelihoods and the country’s economy.”
Three days later, Iran International received reports that Pezeshkian was frustrated at being placed in a “complete political deadlock” and that he had even been stripped of the authority to appoint replacements for government officials killed during the war.
According to that report, Vahidi is said to have explicitly declared that, because of the critical wartime situation, all key and sensitive managerial posts must, until further notice, be directly selected and run by the Revolutionary Guards.
Ghalibaf-led negotiations
On April 27, a group of lawmakers aligned with hardline politician Saeed Jalili declined to sign a parliamentary statement backing Iran’s negotiating team led by Ghalibaf, despite broad support from 261 other MPs.
The statement expressed confidence in the negotiating delegation. However, several prominent hardline figures—including Mahmoud Nabavian, Mohammad Taghi Naqadali, Morteza Aghatehrani, Amirhossein Sabeti, Hamid Rasaei, Ruhollah Izadkhah and Meysam Zohourian—did not sign the statement.
Nabavian was one of the members of the Iranian delegation led by Ghalibaf who attended the first round of Islamabad talks with the United States.
Three days before the statement was published, Iran International reported, citing informed sources in Iran, that Ghalibaf had resigned as head of Iran's negotiating team after being reprimanded over efforts to include the nuclear energy issue in talks.
That report said Araghchi, ahead of his latest trip to Pakistan to deliver the Islamic Republic’s message to Pakistani officials, was seeking to take over leadership of the negotiations following Ghalibaf’s departure.
Araghchi finally visited Islamabad on April 24 alone and handed over Tehran's proposal, which was later rejected by the US president, according to media reports.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday the Trump administration does not currently need congressional authorization for military action against Iran, arguing that the ceasefire has paused or stopped the 60-day deadline under the War Powers Resolution.
Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, a US administration must end the use of armed forces within 60 days of notifying Congress unless lawmakers authorize the operation, extend the period, or are unable to meet. The deadline for the Iran war is expected at the end of this week.
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hegseth said the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, which took effect on April 8, meant the administration did not need congressional approval at this stage, despite the ongoing US naval blockade.
“Ultimately, I would defer to the White House and the White House counsel on that; however, we are in a ceasefire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire,” Hegseth said in response to a question from Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine.
“I do not believe the statute would support that,” Kaine replied. The expiration of the 60-day clock is “going to pose a really important legal question for the administration there,” he said.
