Trump said he is no longer seeking a deal with Iran, after reports that U.S.
forces are preparing possible strikes against Iran that could occur before the
midterm elections. He said the deal "is not something I really want to do," but
that Iran had been offering terms for a ceasefire. He added U.S. Middle East
envoy Witkoff has been working to broker the agreement and that progress was
"very good." Earlier this week Trump said a key problem in talks was uncertainty
over who is in control in Iran during negotiations. Iranian officials rejected
that claim, saying the opposite, and foreign ministry spokesman Baghaei pointed
to inconsistent U.S. official positions and confused messaging.
