'It'll be very powerful or the opposite' — deal or hard line coming soon, president says
US President Donald Trump said Friday that "we're at a point where we're going to get out of Iran very quickly," signaling that the current stalemate in end-of-war negotiations with Tehran may soon give way to a major shift.
Speaking to agricultural leaders in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, Trump said the outcome would be decisive either way. "It'll be very powerful or the opposite — it'll be a document or a very hard way," he said, suggesting that talks could either conclude in a deal or collapse into renewed military action.
He added that "the hard way might actually be the easier way, but we're going to get out, and fertilizer prices will drop a lot, and oil prices, gas prices — they'll all drop a lot." The remarks suggested Trump still favors a diplomatic solution over further military confrontation.
Trump also cited a stronger-than-expected May jobs report, noting it came "in the middle of a military conflict — I won't call it a war, I'll call it a military conflict."
Meanwhile, the United States and Iran have broadly agreed in principle to open the Strait of Hormuz alongside a ceasefire and to hold 60 days of nuclear negotiations, but the two sides have yet to reach agreement on details including the timing of the release of Iran's frozen assets.
choijh@heraldcorp.com