Trump says Iran has ‘interest in reaching an agreement’

US President Donald Trump has said Iran has “an interest in reaching an agreement” as negotiations over the country’s nuclear program and the ongoing conflict continue without resolution.

In a telephone interview with French broadcaster BFMTV on Saturday, Trump said he was uncertain whether a deal would soon be reached.

“I have no idea. If they don’t, they’re going to have a very bad time. They have an interest in reaching an agreement,” the American president told the BFMTV correspondent in the US.

According to several media reports, Trump is expected to decide in the coming hours whether or not to resume strikes against the Iranian regime, as talks aimed at ending the conflict and addressing Iran’s nuclear program have so far failed to produce results.

Regional tensions have remained high since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, prompting retaliatory attacks by Tehran against Israel and US allies in Gulf countries, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

A ceasefire took effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but talks in Islamabad failed to produce a lasting agreement. Trump later extended the truce indefinitely while maintaining a blockade on vessels traveling to or from Iranian ports through the strategic waterway.