Washington DC [US], May 1 : US President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran are progressing behind closed doors and insisted that only a small circle inside his administration knows the true status of the talks.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday (local time), Trump said, "Nobody knows what the talks are, except myself and a couple of other people."
The president acknowledged uncertainty surrounding Iran's leadership structure, adding, "We have a problem because nobody knows for sure who the leaders are. It's a little bit of a problem."
Despite that, Trump maintained that Tehran wants an agreement "badly" and argued that US pressure tactics were severely damaging Iran's economy.
"Their economy is crashing. The blockade is incredible. The power of the blockade is incredible," Trump said, referring to the US-led blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump also appeared to downplay the prospect of resuming large-scale military strikes against Iran despite the fragile ceasefire currently in place.
"I don't know that we need it. We might need it," he said when asked about the possibility of renewed bombing.
According to CNN, Trump is expected to receive updated military options for Iran from Pentagon officials as the administration continues to pressure Tehran into accepting a deal.
The president also criticised repeated congressional efforts to limit his authority to conduct military operations against Iran. "They go again and again on the war power," Trump told reporters. "I'm negotiating a deal with Iran," he added. "And every week, every three days, they put in a thing that the war should stop."
The comments came as US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth defended the administration's legal position before the Senate Armed Services Committee, arguing that the current ceasefire pauses the timeline under the 1973 War Powers Resolution.
Under the law, a president has 60 days from notifying Congress of military action to either end operations or obtain congressional authorisation. That deadline for the Iran conflict is expected to arrive at the end of this week.
"Ultimately, I would defer to the White House and the White House counsel on that; however, we are in a ceasefire right now, which our understanding means the 60-day clock pauses or stops in a ceasefire," Hegseth said during testimony, according to CNN.
Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine disputed that interpretation, replying: "I do not believe the statute would support that."
Kaine added that the approaching deadline was "going to pose a really important legal question for the administration."
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