U.S. President Trump said talks with Iran are progressing very smoothly and a
new round could take place this weekend; he added the Strait of Hormuz would
reopen immediately once an agreement is signed. He said signing would commit
Iran to never possess nuclear weapons — prohibiting both domestic development
and external procurement — and that the U.S. pushed to add the ban on external
purchases after two weeks of negotiation. Trump said Iran is theoretically very
close to signing and that, while the U.S. could eliminate Iran militarily within
two to three weeks, he prefers a written agreement to avoid large-scale
casualties. He said officials are trying to separate the Hormuz issue from the
Lebanon fighting and that the U.S. has held first-ever talks with Hezbollah,
reaching an understanding that Hezbollah will not attack Israel and Israel will
not attack Hezbollah.
