President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, initial U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan in April failed to reach a peace deal.
Trump later announced the open-ended extension of the ceasefire and the continuation of a U.S. blockade until negotiations are concluded "one way or the other."
President Donald Trump said he feels the U.S. is closing in on a deal with Iran, but cautioned that he’s “felt that way before with them," in an interview with PBS.
This deal could include Iran exporting its highly enriched uranium to the U.S., according to Trump.
Trump confirmed the deal would include a pledge from Iran to not operate underground facilities, though Trump followed up by saying they would be operating in "goodwill," making negotiations on the operations of nuclear facilities still unclear.
"I think it's got a very good chance of ending, and if it doesn't end, we have to go back to bombing the hell out of them," Trump reportedly told PBS. “It's getting very close. If they agree, it's over, and if they don't agree, we bomb.”
He said sending special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to in-person talks is "unlikely."
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei criticized negotiations with the U.S. in a new post on X.
"The concept of 'negotiations' requires, at the very least, a genuine attempt to engage in discussions with a view to resolving the dispute," Baqaei said.
Adding, "It needs 'good faith', then, meaning that 'negotiations' is not 'disputation'; nor is it 'dictation', 'deception', 'extortion' or 'coercion.'"
U.S. Central Command said 52 commercial vessels have been turned around by the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.
President Donald Trump said combat operations in Iran are not over and the U.S. "could go in for two more weeks" to get "every single target," in an interview on Tuesday.
Trump was asked whether the combat operations in Iran are over, to which he responded, "no, I didn’t say that."
The comments from Trump were taped around 3 p.m., according to the president’s schedule; the same time that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was at the White House podium saying the exact opposite.
Rubio said the "operation is over," later doubling down and insisting that “Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation.”
Trump had also submitted a letter to Congress last week claiming that the "hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated," something that Rubio cited when arguing that the military operation was over.
-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart and Emily Chang
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a new warning to all vessels intending to transit in the strait, saying "the only safe route to pass through the Strait of Hormuz is the corridor previously announced by Iran," in a statement Tuesday.
"The diversion of vessels to other routes is unsafe and will face a decisive response from the IRGC Navy," the IRGC said.
