President says Iran appears ready to negotiate; administration plans follow-up talks

The President told reporters that the administration held "very, very good talks" on the conflicts in Russia and Ukraine and on Iran, and said Iran now "looks like it wants to make a deal very badly." He described the most recent meeting as producing "results today" and said negotiators will "meet again early next week."

The President said the Iranian delegation met with a "very high representative of Iran" and suggested the country now prefers terms it previously rejected: "Now they are willing to do it." He framed a central condition as "no nuclear weapons," saying if that had been offered earlier it would have been accepted immediately.

Reporters noted private-sector and political envoys were present during some contacts: one questioned reports that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Iran's foreign minister and that the head of CENTCOM, Brad Cooper, attended. The President acknowledged those meetings and said his team had been positioning U.S. assets in the region, adding, "We have a big fleet heading in that direction."

The President declined to set a hard deadline, saying, "We're in no rush," and compared the approach to past negotiations such as with Venezuela, asserting the administration would wait for an acceptable outcome. He framed the talks as part of a year-long effort that began a few months after the start of his term.

The briefing closed the Iran discussion by reiterating that a deal could surprise observers and that further sessions were scheduled. There was no formal announcement of terms or a completed agreement during the briefing.