Trump says Iran war “very close to being over”

WASHINGTON | Xinhua | U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday morning that the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is “very close to being over.”

In an interview with Fox Business, Trump also indicated U.S. strikes would continue as long as necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, repeating threats to target civilian infrastructure.

“We could take out every one of their bridges in one hour. We could take out every one of their power plants in one hour,” Trump said. “We don’t want to do that.”

Washington and Tehran are expected to resume talks as early as Thursday after negotiations stalled Saturday in Pakistan. U.S. media reported that the two sides have reached an “in principle agreement” to extend a two-week ceasefire set to expire April 22 to allow more time for diplomacy.

However, the White House has not formally agreed to extend the ceasefire, a senior U.S. official told CNN.

“There is continued engagement between the U.S. and Iran to reach a deal,” the official said.

U.S. Central Command Commander Brad Cooper said on X that U.S. forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea in less than 36 hours since the blockade was implemented. ■