Trump says prospects of deal with Iran ‘looking really good’

The U.S. and Iran could meet for another round of peace talks this weekend, President Trump said Thursday after Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire that might open the path to a lasting truce in the Middle East.

Mr. Trump said he spoke by phone to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, sparking an agreement to end their countries’ fighting for 10 days, effective late Thursday.

Mr. Trump plans to invite both leaders to the White House for the first face-to-face meeting between the countries’ principals in decades.

“It’s very exciting,” the president said. “First time in 44 years.”

Israel’s bombardment of Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon had been a sticking point in broader negotiations to end the U.S. military operation against Iran.

Iran insisted that Lebanon was included in the two-week ceasefire it struck with Mr. Trump and that Israel was violating the agreement by continuing its attacks on Hezbollah.

Pausing the fighting in Lebanon could provide much-needed space for a round of talks between the U.S. and Iran as Mr. Trump’s military operation against the Islamic republic approaches its seventh week.

“Stock market is good, the oil prices are coming down, and it’s looking really good that we’re going to make a deal with Iran. It’s going to be a good deal,” the president said as he departed the White House for Nevada.

“Iran wants to make a deal, and we’re dealing very nicely with them,” he said. “We’ve got to have no nuclear weapons, that’s a big factor. They’re willing to do things today that they weren’t willing to do two months ago.”

Pakistani mediators are working to set up a new round of talks in Islamabad after Vice President J.D. Vance was unable to secure a lasting peace with Iranian negotiators last weekend.

Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, visited Iran on Thursday as part of the effort.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Thursday that combat operations would continue if Iran does not make a deal.

“We’d prefer to do it the nice way through a deal led by our great vice president and negotiating team. Or we can do it the hard way,” Hegseth said at a news conference.

Likewise, Mr. Trump told White House reporters that “if there’s no deal, fighting resumes.”

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir-Saeid Iravani, said the negotiations could lead to a “meaningful outcome.”

“Despite our deep mistrust of the United States, stemming from its repeated betrayal of diplomacy, we nevertheless enter the negotiation in good faith and remain cautiously optimistic,” he told the U.N. General Assembly.

Mr. Trump is trying to force the Iranian side to the negotiating table by blocking Iranian ports.

U.S. military chiefs say the complex operation is airtight and preventing ships from reaching Iranian ports while letting other vessels pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

European and Asian leaders are eager to see improvement in the strait because they rely heavily on oil from the region.

Prices for Brent crude oil have eased to below $100 per barrel in recent days as buyers hope for a lasting peace.

The national average price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. dropped to $4.09 on Thursday, down from $4.16 a week ago but up from closer to $3 at the start of the war on Feb. 28, according to the AAA motor club.

Gas prices are “not very high, if you look at what they were supposed to be in order to get rid of a nuclear weapon,” Mr. Trump said.

He has characterized the economic fallout from his war on Iran as short-term pain for the long-term gain of preventing Iran from getting a nuke.

Yet Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, warned Thursday that Europe could run out of jet fuel within six weeks if the conflict continues.

“The longer it goes, the worse it will be for the economic growth and inflation around the world,” he told The Associated Press. “Soon, we will hear the news that some of the flights from city A to city B might be canceled as a result of lack of jet fuel.”

European allies were enthusiastic about the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire. Leaders in those countries said Israel went too far in its strikes, which have reportedly killed over 2,000 people — including medics and children.

The ceasefire is “a relief, as this conflict has already claimed far too many lives,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on social media. “Now, we need not just a temporary pause, but a path to permanent peace.”

Mr. Trump’s breakthrough on Lebanon follows historic talks between Israeli and Lebanese diplomats in Washington on Tuesday.

While the two sides did not secure a comprehensive agreement or a ceasefire at the time, they did agree to participate in further U.S.-brokered negotiations.

Israel and Lebanon do not maintain diplomatic relations and have not held direct talks since the Oslo Accords negotiations in 1993.

The two countries have also technically been at war since 1948.

Israel wants the total disarmament of Hezbollah and for Lebanon to dismantle “all terror infrastructure” within its borders.

Hezbollah leadership rejected negotiating with Israel and has insisted that its fighters won’t abide by any agreements made between Israel and Lebanon’s government.

Mr. Trump said he directed Mr. Vance and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “to work with Israel and Lebanon to achieve a Lasting PEACE.”

Mr. Netanyahu said he agreed to the ceasefire to “advance” peace efforts.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the announcement while acknowledging those affected by the fighting.

“As I congratulate all Lebanese on this achievement, I pray for the martyrs who fell, and affirm my solidarity with their families, with the wounded, and with the citizens who were forced to flee their cities and villages, and I hold full hope that they will be able to return to them as soon as possible,” he wrote on X.

Hezbollah said that “any ceasefire must be comprehensive across all Lebanese territory and must not allow the Israeli enemy any freedom of movement.”

However, it added that “Israeli occupation on our land grants Lebanon and its people the right to resist it, and this matter will be determined based on how developments unfold.”

Both sides warned civilians in northern Israel and Lebanon to take precautions late Thursday, citing ongoing attacks in the final hours before the ceasefire.