Trump tells Al Jazeera ‘not in a hurry’ for Iran to return to talks

United States President Donald Trump told Al Jazeera he has “no time schedule” for when he expects Iran to return to the negotiating table to end the conflict the US began months ago.

“I have no time schedule, none. I’m not in a hurry. I have no time schedule at all,” Trump told Al Jazeera’s Tanya Noury on Wednesday, after he was asked how much time he was giving Iran to return to talks.

“We are winning very big,” Trump said. “They’ve got massive inflation, their economy is falling apart, they’re treating their people very badly, they are killing many many protesters, I have no time schedule, whatever it takes.”

This Friday marks six months since the US war on Iran began.

The comments depart from previous statements by the US president. After launching the war on February 28, Trump went on to repeatedly downplay how long the conflict would last, saying at one point it would be over in “four to six” weeks.

In June, the US and Iran signed a 60-day “memorandum of understanding” that was supposed to deal with issues like transit through the Strait of Hormuz, lifting sanctions on Iran, and starting talks on how to deal with Tehran’s nuclear program. That agreement expired earlier this month.

On Monday, the US announced enhanced sanctions on Iran and 60 entities in various countries doing business with the country, what officials have called an “economic D-Day” and the administration have dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast.”