Donald Trump says Iran offered gesture as talks advance

US President Donald Trump said that Iran had offered what he described as a significant oilandgasrelated gesture tied to the Strait of Hormuz using it as evidence that the United States was now dealing with interlocutors capable of reaching a dealSpeaking in the Oval Office during the swearingin of Markwayne Mullin as Homeland Security Secretary Trump said ldquoWere in negotiations right nowrdquo adding that ldquothe other side I can tell you theyd like to make a dealrdquo reported IANSHe said the development followed a shift in leadership inside Iran ldquoWe have really regime changerdquo Trump said adding that ldquothe leaders are all very different than the ones that we started off withrdquoTrump says Iranians gave him a present clarifies it was a gesture of oil and gas relatedAccording to IANS Trump said the United States was in contact with a new group of Iranian officials and cited what he called a ldquopresentrdquo from Tehran as a sign of progress ldquoThey gave us a present and the present arrived todayrdquo he said ldquoIt was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of moneyrdquoHe later clarified that the gesture was ldquooil and gas relatedrdquo and linked to maritime flows When asked if it was connected to the Strait of Hormuz Trump replied ldquoYeah it was related to the flow and to the StraitrdquoThe president said the move showed that Washington was now engaging ldquothe right peoplerdquo ldquoThey said they were going to do it and it happened and theyre the only ones that could have done itrdquo he said reported IANSTrump maintained that any deal would hinge on Iranrsquos nuclear programme ldquoThey cannot have a nuclear weaponrdquo he said adding ldquotheyre not going to have a nuclear weaponrdquo He also said ldquotheyve agreed they will never have a nuclear weaponrdquoTrump says that he was negotiating and much of their military is destroyedAt the same time he said the US had held off on further military action while talks continued Referring to a planned strike on a major Iranian power facility Trump said ldquowe held off based on the fact that were negotiatingrdquoAccording to IANS Trump repeatedly argued that Iran was negotiating from a weakened position ldquoThey have no Navy left they have no Air Force leftrdquo he said adding that much of their military capability had been destroyedTrump said US forces had established dominance over Iranian airspace ldquoWe are roaming free over Tehranrdquo he said adding that US forces ldquocan do whatever we wantrdquoDefence Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed that assessment saying ldquoNever in history has a modern military been so rapidly and historically obliterated defeatedrdquoTrump said the administration was pursuing a dualtrack approach of military pressure and diplomacy ldquoWe are in about the best bargaining positionrdquo he said while stressing that the objective was to end the conflict without further loss of life as per IANSldquoId like to be able to do thatrdquo he said referring to avoiding additional strikes ldquoIf we can end this without more lives being downhellip Id like to be able to do thatrdquoTrump says he does not trust the Iranian side still confident of negotiation for resultsAccording to IANS Trump suggests that Iranrsquos outreach was driven by its current position ldquoWho wouldnt if you were thererdquo he said when asked why Tehran would seek a dealDespite the ongoing talks Trump said he did not trust the Iranian side ldquoI dont trust anybodyrdquo he said ldquoI dont trust themrdquoStill he expressed confidence that negotiations would produce results ldquoTheyre going to make a dealrdquo he saidThe president described the situation as a potential turning point in the conflict saying ldquoI think were going to end itrdquo while adding ldquoI cant tell you for surerdquo reported IANSHe also reiterated that the US would maintain pressure until its core objective was met ldquoIt starts with no nuclear weaponsrdquo Trump said ldquoThere wont be any nuclear weaponsrdquoInputs from IANS