▲ This photo, released by AFP, shows U.S. President Donald Trump speaking during a press briefing at the White House in Washington on April 6, 2026. (Yonhap)

Trump-Iran negotiations

Trump says 'very optimistic' about Iran peace deal ahead of negotiations in Pakistan: report

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, April 9 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday expressed optimism that a peace deal with Iran was within reach, a report said, as U.S. and Iranian negotiators are set to meet in Pakistan this weekend for negotiations to end their war.

In a phone interview with NBC News, Trump said that he was "very optimistic" about the prospects of a deal with Tehran, despite concerns that a ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran appeared shaky due to Israel's attacks on the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and Iran's restrictions on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump said that Iranian leaders "talk much differently when you're at a meeting than they do to the press, and that they are "much more reasonable," the broadcaster reported.

"They're agreeing to all the things that they have to agree to. Remember, they've been conquered. They have no military," the president was quoted as saying. "If they don't make a deal, it's going to be very painful."

His remarks came as tensions have flared up over the implementation of the two-week ceasefire deal.

The U.S. and Israel argued that the ceasefire does not include Lebanon, while Iran claims that Israel's strikes on Lebanon ran afoul of the deal. Earlier, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key intermediary in the ceasefire talks, said that the U.S. and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire "everywhere including Lebanon."

After his call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, Trump told NBC News that the Israelis were "scaling back" operations in Lebanon.

Iran's continued curbs on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz -- a vital oil shipping route responsible for about a fifth of the world's oil supply -- have also been a major source of tension.

Russia's TASS news agency reported, citing a high-ranking Iranian source, that Iran will allow fewer than 15 ships a day through the strait as part of the ceasefire deal, though Trump has said he agreed to the deal "subject" to Iran's "complete, immediate and safe" opening of the waterway.

Meanwhile, Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a statement that his country is not seeking an armed conflict, but will not give up its rights, according to TASS.

The U.S. and Iran are set to have the first round of their negotiations in Pakistan on Saturday morning (local time), seeking to end the war.

The two sides are expected to discuss Iran's 10-point proposal, which Trump cast as a "workable basis on which to negotiate" a deal.

The proposal contains a series of Iran's demands, including its control of the Strait of Hormuz, the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from the Middle East, the acceptance of Iran's nuclear enrichment right and the lifting of all primary and secondary sanctions against Tehran.

The U.S. delegation includes Vice President JD Vance; Steve Witkoff, the special envoy to the Middle East; and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, according to the White House.

The Iranian side will include Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr; Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, the parliamentary speaker; and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, TASS reported.

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