On Thursday, April 9th, President Trump told the media that he is “very optimistic” about the United States reaching a peace agreement with Iran. A diplomatic delegation led by Vice President Pence is preparing to travel to Pakistan for high-risk talks with Iranian officials to end the six-week conflict.
Trump said in a phone interview with NBC News, “The language of the Iranian leaders in the talks is very different from what they present in front of the media. They are much more reasonable.”
The President added, “They have agreed on all the necessary matters. Remember, they have been conquered. They no longer have a military.”
Trump also warned, “If they do not reach an agreement, the consequences will be very serious.”
Earlier on the same day, U.S. Central Command Commander Admiral Brad Cooper, who is responsible for the front-line operations in Iran, stated that the U.S. and Israeli military have destroyed Iran’s conventional military capabilities built over the past 40 years.
Cooper reiterated that U.S. military operations have been suspended in accordance with the ongoing ceasefire agreement. He stated that during the five weeks of military actions, the U.S. had successfully executed over 13,000 strikes against Iranian military targets and carried out thousands of combat flight missions.
The U.S. and Iran announced a temporary ceasefire on Tuesday and held face-to-face high-level talks over the weekend. However, cracks appeared in the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement as Israeli forces continued to launch attacks on Lebanon, with Hezbollah being the armed force supported by Iran. Iran insists that Israel must cease hostilities towards Lebanon, while the U.S. believes this is not within the scope of the negotiations.
A senior government official told NBC News that Trump had requested Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Wednesday to reduce airstrikes on Lebanon to ensure the success of the upcoming negotiations.
Trump confirmed the call and stated that Israel is “scaling back” its military operations in Lebanon.
“I’ve spoken with Netanyahu, he will handle this discreetly,” Trump said. “I think we should also be discreet.”
On Thursday, the President also gave a telephone interview to an Israeli media outlet. When asked about the U.S.-Iran peace talks, he said, “We will reach a very successful agreement. Everything will be fine, everything will go smoothly.”
Regarding Prime Minister Netanyahu, the President said, “Netanyahu supports this agreement.”
Regarding the situation in Lebanon, Trump mentioned, “Netanyahu will be fine. He will handle this discreetly. There are some issues between him and Hezbollah. He will keep a low profile, but he has no problem.”
Pence, after wrapping up his visit to Hungary on Wednesday, also told the media on-site as he prepared to leave that Israel would “scale down” its attacks on Lebanon.
Netanyahu has not publicly stated readiness to reduce the scale of airstrikes, but on Thursday, he indicated that the Israeli government would seek “direct negotiations” with Lebanon.
A Lebanese official also informed Al Jazeera that they are seeking a ceasefire before agreeing to direct negotiations.
The official added that the negotiations would be overseen by the United States and led by former Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S., Simon Karam.