President Donald Trump said he was not ready to make a deal to end the war with Iran “because the terms are not good enough” but declined to say what those terms would be.
In a wide-ranging, nearly 30-minute telephone interview with NBC News, the president said he was working with other countries on a plan to secure the Strait of Hormuz amid rising global oil prices, and he dismissed American concerns about rising gas prices since the US and Israel launched their joint military operation two weeks ago.
The president questioned whether Iran’s new supreme leader was “alive.”
Iran has decided to attack other Middle Eastern countries in response to the US-Israeli operation, and Trump said the US attack on Kharg Island on Saturday “totally demolished” much of the island but “we might strike a few more times for fun”.
He also criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said it was “much harder to reach an agreement” than Russian President Vladimir Putin on efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Trump’s comments follow criticism from global leaders after the US eased sanctions on Russian oil in an effort to curb rising global oil prices.
Trump says he is not ready to make a deal with Iran
In the phone call, Trump said he was not ready to make a deal to end the war with Iran at this point.
“Iran wants to do a deal, and I don’t want to do it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” he said, adding that any terms would have to be “very solid.”
Asked what the terms of a potential deal to end the war would be, the president responded: “I don’t want to tell you that.” But he acknowledged that part of that would be a commitment from Iran to completely abandon any nuclear ambitions.
Trump’s comments came after Reuters reported that the Trump administration had sidelined efforts to postpone talks to end the war.
He previewed what the rest of the US military operation in Iran might look like. It began last month with Israeli and US forces launching joint attacks on the nation, and Iran responded by launching attacks on Israeli and US targets in nearby countries. Thirteen active-duty US service personnel have died since the conflict began, including six US personnel who died Friday after their military refueling plane crashed in Iraq.
Trump administration officials have sent mixed messages over the past two weeks about U.S. military goals in Iran and how long the conflict could last, with Trump saying at times it could take a month or more and at other times saying “we’re ahead of schedule” and “there’s practically nothing left to target.”
On Saturday, the president said “the only power they have, and it’s a power that can be shut down relatively quickly, is the power to drop a mine or hit a relatively short-range missile. But when we’re done ashore, they won’t have that power.”
He later added: “We shot down most of their missiles. We shot down most of their drones. We shot down most of their manufacturing of missiles and drones. In two days, it will be completely destroyed.”
Securing the Strait of Hormuz
Trump said on Saturday that he was asking “a number of countries affected by Iran’s oppression” to help protect the Strait of Hormuz, a key sea route for oil tankers, as global oil prices have risen amid the war.
Meanwhile, Iranian leaders have vowed to close the strait and called for even higher oil prices than they have since the conflict began.
The president said several countries were committed to helping secure the strait, but declined to name any of them.
“Not only have they made the commitment, but they think it’s a great idea,” he said.
In a Satya social post on Saturday morning, Trump wrote: “Many countries, especially those affected by Iran’s attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz, will send warships along with the United States of America to keep the Strait open and secure,” adding: “Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain, will be sent from affected area to affected area.”
In the phone call, Trump said it was unclear whether Iran had dropped mines into the strait.
“We’re going to sweep the strait hard and we believe we’ll be joined by other countries that will somewhat disrupt and in some cases prevent them from getting oil,” he said.
Asked if the US Navy would begin escorting ships through the strait, the president declined, saying, “I don’t want to tell you anything about that,” but adding, “It’s possible.”
The president confirmed that US forces had carried out strikes on Kharg Island, a strategic island off the coast of Iran that is home to an oil terminal that accounts for most of the nation’s oil exports.
US Central Command said on Saturday morning that it carried out “accurate strikes” on 90 military targets while “preserving the oil infrastructure” but “we’ve completely demolished Kharg Island, but we might hit it a few more times for fun,” Trump said on Saturday.
“We have completely destroyed it,” the president added. “Except, you know, I didn’t do anything with the power lines, because that would take years to rebuild.”
Trump questions whether Iran’s new supreme leader is ‘alive’
The president on Saturday questioned whether Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was alive after Khamenei did not appear on camera to deliver his first statement as Iran’s leader on Thursday.
In a written statement, Khamenei, son of slain predecessor Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed to continue blocking the Strait of Hormuz and attack US allies in the region.
“I don’t know if he’s alive. So far, nobody has been able to show him,” Trump said by phone Saturday.
“I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something smart for his country, and that’s surrender,” Trump added, but called news of his death a “rumor.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that the younger Khamenei was “wounded and disfigured” and called his written statement “weak.”
“There are a lot of cameras and a lot of voice recorders in Iran. Why a written statement? I think you know why. His father: dead; he’s scared, he’s injured, he’s on the run, and he has no legitimacy,” Hegseth added.
Khamenei was named the new supreme leader earlier this week after initial US and Israeli strikes on Iran killed his father a week ago.
Trump declined to say whether there was a specific Iranian leader he wanted to take over as supreme leader, saying instead, “We have people who are living as good leaders for the future of the country.”
Asked if he had been in contact with any potential leaders, the president said: “I don’t want to say that. I don’t want to put them at risk.”
Trump expressed ‘surprise’ that Iran has targeted other Middle Eastern countries
The president said Saturday that U.S. allies in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are “excellent” and that “they have fired unnecessarily.”
“I’m very surprised,” Trump said of Iran’s targeting of other Middle Eastern countries, adding that it was “the biggest surprise to me about this whole thing.”
According to an NBC News analysis, Iran has been flying drones into Middle Eastern countries, including Bahrain and Kuwait, and targeting oil infrastructure, logistics hubs and government centers.
The US does not release data on the number of drones it encounters or intercepts, but data from the UAE says 1,475 unmanned aerial vehicles have been flown over the country as of March 10.
On Saturday morning, Iraqi officials said an Iranian airstrike hit a helipad on the compound of the US Embassy in Baghdad. On Saturday, in the wake of the US attack on Kharg Island, Iran threatened to destroy oil and gas infrastructure across the region if the US struck oil infrastructure on the island.
Trump ‘not worried’ about rising gas prices
Trump, who has repeatedly attacked then-President Joe Biden in 2024 over high gas prices, on Saturday dismissed concerns that rising gas prices in the US could hurt Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections.
“I think they’re going to go lower than before, and I have them at record lows,” Trump said of gas prices, promising to drop soon after the war in Iran ends.
On March 1, the day after the US and Israel began attacking Iran, GasBuddy averaged $2.94 a gallon in the US. On Saturday, the average price was $3.66.
“There’s not a lot of oil, gas — there’s not a lot, but you know, it’s a little bit closed. It’s going to be closed very soon,” the president added.
When asked directly if gas prices could affect the midterms, Trump said, “I have no concern.
“The only thing I want to do is make sure Iran can’t be the bully of the Middle East again,” he said.
Trump says Russia is ‘probably’ sharing information with Iran
Asked about his decision to temporarily lift some sanctions on Russian oil amid rising global oil prices, the president said: “I want to have oil for the world, I want to have oil,”
He said sanctions were imposed when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. “Come back as soon as the crisis is over.”
On Saturday, when asked about criticism from some foreign leaders about lifting sanctions, Trump directed his anger at Ukraine’s president without answering directly, saying, “I’m surprised Zelensky doesn’t want to make a deal. Tell Zelensky to make a deal because Putin is willing to make a deal.”
“It is very difficult to reach an agreement with Zelensky,” the US president added.
Zelenskyy earlier this month proposed using the Ukrainian military’s experience in shooting down Russian drones to help US forces and their allies in the Middle East intercept Iranian drones.
But on Saturday, Trump said, “We don’t need help,” adding that “the last person we need help with is Zelensky.”
The president declined to comment on whether the U.S. has accepted Ukraine’s help with drone interception technology.
In a post on X on Friday, Zelensky wrote: “Countries in the Middle East have reached out to us, asking to share our expertise in intercepting Iranian ‘Shahed’ drones during mass attacks. That’s why we’ve already sent expert teams to three countries.”
Earlier Saturday, an Iranian politician said Ukraine was a “legitimate and legitimate target” for Iran because it offered Ukraine help to defend against drones.
Asked to respond to reports that Russia is sharing intelligence with Iran about the location of US forces, Trump said: “Maybe Russia is giving information, maybe they’re not.”
He said the U.S. is “doing it against them” because “we’re giving Ukraine some information and we’re trying to make peace between the two nations.”
