Trump says Iran talks are going well despite deadlock claims

Donald Trump is projecting momentum in the Iran talks even as Tehran’s camp says the negotiations have frozen, exposing a sharp divide over whether diplomacy is moving toward a deal or drifting into stalemate.

Trump said the situation with Iran seemed to be going well and suggested a resolution could come soon, either “with a piece of paper” or “in a more difficult way.” He has also said talks were continuing at a “rapid pace” and had been going on “continuously,” including on the day he spoke. But an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader said the talks were “at a deadlock” and that “the ball is in Trump’s court,” underscoring how far apart the two sides remain on the terms of any agreement.

The disconnect has centered on the same core issues for weeks: Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions relief and frozen Iranian assets. A proposed deal was still being reviewed in Tehran, but Iranian officials had gone several days without communicating with Washington, even as Trump insisted the conversations had not stopped. That gap matters because both governments are trying to shape the public narrative while the negotiating table remains unsettled.

Marco Rubio told lawmakers that Iran had agreed to discuss parts of its nuclear program that it had previously refused to put on the table. He also made clear that sanctions relief would depend on Iranian commitments and compliance. Iran, for its part, has kept to its long-standing position that its atomic program is peaceful and denied seeking a nuclear weapon.

The talks are unfolding against a broader conflict that has not fully cooled. The Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries about 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, remains one of the most sensitive pieces of the dealmaking because any reopening or disruption would ripple through energy markets and global shipping. On June 5, U.S. forces shot down four Iranian drones and intercepted seven missiles headed toward Bahrain and Kuwait, while those Gulf states reported hostile missile and drone attacks of their own.

Tehran is also pressing for any broader arrangement to account for regional fighting, including a halt to Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon. That demand adds another layer to a negotiation already tied to the nuclear file, sanctions, frozen assets and security guarantees. The public optimism from Washington and the deadlock language from Tehran point to the same reality: a breakthrough would require a verifiable nuclear understanding, a sanctions formula both sides can live with and some answer to the regional war that still hangs over the talks.