Washington, Sep 29 (IANS) US President Donald Trump said that members of his team had spoken to Iran that day, but gave no indication of progress towards ending the war. He said he expected the confrontation to conclude quickly “one way or the other.”
Asked at the White House whether his team had spoken to Iran, Trump replied, “Yeah, they have.” A reporter followed up with a question referring to mediators, and he again answered, “Yeah.” He did not identify those involved, specify how the contact took place or describe what was discussed.
Pressed for any movement in the talks, Trump said: “No, we’re going to win. As far as I’m concerned, it’s going to be one way or the other. It’s going to be — it’s going to go pretty quickly.”
His answers confirmed contact on Monday in the President’s account. They did not establish that US and Iranian officials had met directly or reached a new understanding. Trump offered no timetable or terms for an agreement.
The questions came during a White House event on a proposed steel investment in Iowa.
The reporter wanted to know whether drivers and truckers should expect elevated prices in the coming weeks. Trump did not give a price forecast for that period. Instead, he tied a decline in fuel prices to the end of the war.
“Gas is going to go way down,” he said. He also predicted that inflation would disappear once the conflict ended. Trump supplied neither an estimate of the change in prices nor a date for the end of hostilities.
“Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
Asked separately about five suspects whom a reporter said had been arrested in Britain and released on bail, Trump said an Iranian connection “Might be” possible. When pressed to explain, he declined. “I’d rather not,” he said.
–IANS
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