Trump threatens ‘very strong’ strikes as ‘significant’ progress reported in Iran talks

US President Donald Trump said Monday that he paused military strikes on Iran to give diplomacy another chance, amid a report of "significant" progress in talks to end the war. But he added that he is prepared to authorize another major attack on the Islamic Republic if the talks fail.

"We are in very deep talks with Iran. If they don't work out, we will go back to very strong military action," Trump told the Axios news site on Monday.

Trump insisted that he is not giving much time for the talks, even though he has said that before and has then allowed Iran to drag the negotiations out further. "Either it goes fast or not at all," he claimed.

His comments came as regional officials said that mediators have achieved progress in getting the two countries back to the table, after both sides paused attacks following a period of rapidly escalating tensions.

Neither the US nor Iran has reported carrying out any attacks for three days — a respite after about two weeks of sustained bombardments that had led to increasing fears of a return to all-out war.

Trump's decision to hold off on strikes was widely reported to have been made due to warnings from his generals that they were no longer effective, and because the US is running out of missile interceptors . Explaining the decision, Trump told Axios, "All of the people that deal with Iran asked me: 'Don't fire.'"

Two regional officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks, said mediators led by Qatar and Pakistan were working to bridge the gap between Washington and Tehran to return to an interim ceasefire deal that collapsed.

One of the regional officials described the progress made in mediation efforts as “significant.” He said mediators are working with Iran and Oman on a mechanism for managing vessels’ transit through the Strait of Hormuz, the flashpoint for the latest strikes and counterstrikes.

On Monday, an anonymous official in the Trump administration told the Kan public broadcaster that the indirect negotiations are at a “serious stage." The official reportedly said both sides have exchanged proposals, but that there are no agreements yet.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said during a news conference in Tehran earlier that “mediators may convey messages to us from the American side” but that there are no direct negotiations.

Israel, which launched the war with Iran alongside the US in late February, has not been involved in the peace talks and has not taken part in the latest round of conflict. Trump's comments came on the eve of his first in-person meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since the war began, which will take place Tuesday morning in the White House.

Netanyahu took off for Washington on Monday from Nevatim Air Base in the Negev, as opposed to Ben Gurion Airport, due to what Hebrew media reports claimed was heightened security measures.

In a video statement alongside his wife Sara before takeoff, Netanyahu said Iran would top the agenda in his meeting with Trump.

“We will discuss all the issues on the agenda, first and foremost, Iran. Of course, our goal is to safeguard our security while also expanding the circle of peace around us," he said.

“I am embarking on this mission with one clear objective,” he continued, “to ensure the security, strength, and future of our beloved State of Israel.”

Asked by Axios about the meeting, Trump said, "I am going to talk to Bibi about the fact that if I weren't president, Iran would have had nuclear weapons by now and Israel would have been destroyed."

Netanyahu noted that he was also traveling to pay his last respects to the late Republican senator Lindsey Graham, “one of Israel’s greatest friends of all time.” Graham's funeral will also take place on Tuesday.

The meeting will be the first held between Netanyahu and Trump in five months, during which relations between the two leaders appeared to grow more tense, due to differing stances on how to deal with Iran.

The fighting entered a truce on April 8, and the US and Iran last month reached a memorandum of understanding for peace talks.

The US has since attacked Iran in response to the Islamic Republic’s continued attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a key pathway for the global oil supply. The fighting appeared to be intensifying over the past two weeks until Trump paused strikes over the weekend.

Nava Freiberg contributed to this report.

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