Trump Says US Locked in 'Very Deep Negotiations' with Iran
"They've been meeting for many hours," Trump told reporters as he departed the White House. "We'll see what happens. Look, regardless, we win. Regardless of what happens, we win."
The trilateral talks — bringing together the US, Pakistan, and Iran — represent the first direct in-person negotiations aimed at resolving the broader Middle East conflict under a fragile two-week ceasefire brokered earlier this week. The American delegation is led by Vice President JD Vance and includes special envoy Steve Witkoff, presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, Deputy National Security Advisor Dr. Andrew Baker, and Michael Vance, special advisor to the vice president for Asian affairs.
Trump elaborated on his confidence in the outcome, painting a sweeping picture of American leverage:
"So, let's see what happens. Maybe they make a deal, maybe they don't. From the standpoint of America, we win. One of the things that's happening is that boats are sailing up and heading out to our country, big, beautiful tankers, and we're loading them up with oil and gas and everything else. It's a pretty, beautiful thing to see."
"We're going to see what happens. We're in very deep negotiations with Iran. We win regardless," he added.
The president cited the decimation of Iran's naval capabilities as the cornerstone of that confidence, claiming the US had destroyed 158 Iranian vessels, including the mine-laying ships that had threatened the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint through which roughly 20% of global oil trade flows.
"Their navy has gone. 158 ships. They have 28 water droppers -- mine droppers, they call them. All of them are sunk. They probably have a couple of mines in the water. We have mine sweepers out there. We're sweeping the Strait (of Hormuz)."
"In addition to that, we're negotiating. Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me, because we've won," he said.
On the water, US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed it had already moved to act, announcing that its forces launched a mine-clearing mission in the Strait of Hormuz on April 11. In a formal statement, CENTCOM said "U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces began setting conditions for clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz, April 11, as two U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers conducted operations."
The guided-missile destroyers USS Frank E. Peterson (DDG 121) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) transited the strait and conducted operations in the Gulf "as part of a broader mission to ensure the strait is fully clear of sea mines previously laid by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps," the command added.
On a separate front, Trump issued a stark warning to Beijing amid reports that China is preparing to ship weapons to Iran, declaring that if it proceeds, "China is going to have big problems."
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