Pakistan, May 17 — U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Saturday that Iran “has an interest in reaching a deal” as discussions regarding the nation’s nuclear program and the ongoing conflict remain unresolved.
During a phone conversation with French media outlet BFMTV, Trump expressed doubt about whether an agreement would be finalized soon.
“I’m not sure. If they don’t, they’ll face a tough situation. They have a stake in coming to an agreement,” the U.S. president said to a BFMTV reporter in America.
Trump stated that Washington could quickly dismantle Iranian infrastructure, while emphasizing that he had not overlooked Tehran’s endurance in the conflict.
“I didn’t dismiss anything. We struck them incredibly hard,” Trump stated during an interview with Fox News following his visit to China.
He mentioned that the US “abandoned their bridges, and we left their power capacity. We are capable of destroying all of it within two days. Everything.”
Trump highlighted frequent failures in diplomatic relations with Iran, stating that talks had turned unreliable and erratic.
“They were going to hand us the dust, everything we desired, and each time they struck a deal, the following day it was as if we had never had that discussion. This has happened approximately five times, and there’s something seriously wrong with them—they’re actually insane,” he said.
Trump also presented a potential resolution as a decision between increasing tensions and showing restraint. “It will either be violent or non-violent, and I strongly prefer it to be non-violent,” he stated.
When questioned about the U.S. midterm elections in November, Trump stated, “I won’t allow the election to influence what happens regarding Iran,” reaffirming his stance that Tehran should not possess a nuclear program.
As per multiple media outlets, Trump is set to determine in the next few hours whether to restart attacks on the Iranian government, with negotiations seeking to conclude the conflict and tackle Iran’s nuclear program having thus far yielded no success.
So far, 78 vessels have been diverted from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the US military.
The United States stated that it has redirected 78 commercial ships and disabled four more to implement Trump’s restriction on vessels traveling to and from Iranian ports through the Strait of Hormuz.
“By May 16, 78 commercial vessels had been rerouted, and 4 had been disabled to guarantee adherence,” stated the US Central Command on X.
Previously, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, stated that Iran has developed a system to regulate vessel movement through the Strait of Hormuz via a specific route, which will be announced shortly.
Azizi mentioned that only commercial ships and entities working with Iran would gain from the agreement. He stated that charges would be collected for specific services offered through the system.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi cautioned that the United States would encounter escalating economic repercussions due to its “choice-based conflict” with Iran.
On X, Araghchi stated that Americans would have to face the increasing expenses resulting from a confrontation with Tehran. “Forget about the rise in gas prices and the stock market bubble. True hardship starts when US debt and mortgage rates begin to surge,” he mentioned.
He also highlighted increasing financial pressures within the United States, noting that auto loan delinquencies had already hit a level not seen in over 30 years. “This was entirely preventable,” Araghchi added.
The Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the United Nations alleged that the US was trying to create a “false image” of global backing for its actions by presenting a politically driven draft resolution at the United Nations.
In a message shared on X, the Iranian delegation stated that it has become “clear as day” that Washington is attempting to use the number of supporting nations for the resolution to validate what it calls “unlawful ongoing actions” and to set the stage for “additional military aggression in the area.”
The Iranian delegation also cautioned that any further intensification by the United States would also hold accountable nations backing the resolution. “No political justification or diplomatic protection can exonerate them from responsibility for enabling, supporting, and validating US aggression,” it stated.
Furthermore, Iran “continues to be dedicated to diplomacy and peaceful resolutions,” stated the country’s President Masoud Pezeshkian in a message addressed to Pope Leo XIV, as reported by Iranian state media.
Pezeshkian also conveyed Tehran’s gratitude for the Catholic leader’s “moral and logical position regarding the recent military attacks on Iran,” as reported by IRNA. The president stated that Iran struck targets of the United States and Israel “within the bounds of legitimate defense,” and urged the global community to “behave responsibly in response to America’s unlawful actions.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry representative, Esmaeil Baghaei, referenced the anti-colonial author Aime Cesaire to condemn what he termed the West’s ethical deterioration, double standards, and failure to tackle issues arising from its own conflicts and systems of control.
On a post shared on X, Baghaei referenced the influential book Discourse on Colonialism by Cesaire, stating, “A society that failed to address the issues it generated was a decaying society; a society that refuses to acknowledge its most significant challenges is an ailing one.”
He also referenced another excerpt from the book, stating: “A society that is careless with its values is a civilization in decline.”
