Trump meets – Donald Trump said he will meet today with U.S. negotiators to review Iran’s latest proposal and decide by Sunday whether to strike Iran again, as Iranian leaders reject any compromise on national rights and mediators push to extend the ceasefire by 60 days.
By the time the meeting clock starts ticking inside Washington, the ceasefire is already being tested in Tehran and in the capitals trying to hold it together.
Donald Trump said he would meet today with American negotiators to review Iran’s latest proposal and decide by Sunday whether he will strike Iran “to kingdom come”. He told Axios it was a “solid 50/50” on whether he would be able to make a “good” deal with Iran or begin striking the country anew.
Trump is expected to meet with special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner, along with JD Vance. He is also expected to meet with Gulf mediators to discuss the situation with Iran, with Egyptian, Pakistani and Turkish leaders expected to participate in the talks.
A Pakistani security official said a memorandum of understanding is being “fine tuned” to end the war.
That diplomatic push is colliding with a hard line from Iran’s side. Iran’s top negotiator said earlier on Saturday there will be no compromise over Iran’s national rights during a meeting with the Pakistani army chief in Tehran on Saturday.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Iran’s parliamentary speaker. said Tehran would secure its “legitimate rights”. whether through the battlefield or through negotiations. while accusing the U.S. of not being an honest negotiating partner. “If Trump acts foolishly and the war resumes. the response against the United States will certainly be more crushing and bitter than on the first day of the war. ” Ghalibaf said during the meeting. He added that the Iranian military had rebuilt its capabilities during the ceasefire that began in early April.
Those remarks arrive as reports said the U.S. was considering fresh strikes on Iran even as negotiations for an enduring truce sputtered. The Trump administration was preparing for a renewed round of strikes, CBS news reported on Friday, citing informed sources.
In the last few days, diplomacy has surged around a question that has become harder to dodge: whether the ceasefire survives the next round of U.S. deliberations.
Pakistan. which has been mediating talks between Iran and the U.S. has led a renewed push to bridge the gap between the two parties. Pakistan’s army chief. Syed Asim Munir. met Iran’s president. Masoud Pezeshkian. and foreign minister. Abbas Araghchi. on Saturday before leaving Tehran. The talks reportedly focused on a 14-point peace proposal by Iran, as well as messages between the two parties.
A Qatari delegation met with Iranian and Pakistani mediators in Iran on Friday. On Saturday, Trump spoke with the Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to discuss “regional and international efforts to stabilise the ceasefire”, according to a statement by Tamim’s office.
The ceasefire between the U.S. Israel and Iran has been in place since early April after more than a month of war. The truce was meant not only to stop fighting. but also to give space for negotiations over reopening the strait of Hormuz—a chokepoint for about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies—while talks continued over Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programme.
But talks have largely not progressed, and the strait remains mostly closed despite the ceasefire and mediation efforts.
Rubio’s comments in New Delhi captured the cautious mood in Washington’s public messaging. On Saturday, the U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, expressed cautious optimism for negotiations. “There’s been some progress done, some progress made. Even as I speak to you now. there’s some work being done. ” Rubio told reporters in New Delhi during a visit to India. “There might be some news a little later today. There may not be. I hope there will be,” he said.
It is unclear what “news” Rubio was referring to. Mediators on Saturday said they believe they were close to extending the ceasefire by 60 days and set a framework for talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, the Financial Times reported, citing people briefed on the talks.
Iran’s official line, delivered through its foreign ministry, was that positions were moving closer. Iranian state media reported that Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei as saying that positions had moved closer in recent days.
Behind closed doors, however, the pressure for leverage remained visible. Trump met the U.S. secretary of defence, Pete Hegseth, in the White House on Friday reportedly to review options for restarting the bombing campaign. Trump also announced that he would be skipping his son’s wedding this weekend for reasons “pertaining to the government”.
Even as diplomats talk about extensions and frameworks, what a renewed bombing campaign could target remains uncertain. In the past, Trump threatened to wipe out “a whole civilisation” and targeted civilian infrastructure such as bridges. Israel had also attacked energy facilities, and strikes damaged desalination facilities during the war in March.
Human rights groups have criticised the attacks on civilian infrastructure, saying attacks against public infrastructure could be considered war crimes for their impact on civilians.
Some discussions have focused on Iran’s nuclear capabilities. including sites that hold Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. described as a key point in negotiations. Yet the facilities and other nuclear sites are probably deep underground and would require complex operations using tons of bunker-buster bombs. Iranian stockpiles of drones. ballistic missiles and missile-launching sites could also be targets. as they were in the last round of conflict. Targeted assassinations of Iranian officials could also be on the table.
Analysts, though, have warned that the U.S. is in an even more vulnerable position than it was at the beginning of the Iran war. The Washington Post revealed that the U.S. had depleted much of its stockpile of advanced missile-defence interceptors—a key munition it needs to defend its bases and allies in the Middle East.
For many Americans, the political calculus is shaped not only by security, but by cost. Much of the U.S. public is against the war and is frustrated with soaring gas prices and inflation that have occurred as a result of the closure of the strait of Hormuz. Trump’s popularity has declined, with an approval rating of about 37%—a historic low.
It is also unclear how much the U.S. actually achieved in the first round of conflict. The Iranian leadership remains in place, and intelligence assessments indicate that as much as 60% of Iran’s missile and drone stockpile remains.
One thread connects the statements from Washington and Tehran, and the frantic diplomacy in between: even as negotiators push for time—60 more days, a framework, a chance at a longer truce—both sides are still talking as if the end of the ceasefire is only weeks away.
That timing matters now more than the arguments themselves. Trump has put a deadline on decision-making by Sunday, even as mediators say progress may be close. In Tehran. leaders insist on “legitimate rights” regardless of battlefield or talks. and warn that a resumed war would bring a response they describe as worse than the first day.
Trump Iran ceasefire Steve Witkoff Jared Kushner JD Vance Syed Asim Munir Masoud Pezeshkian Abbas Araghchi Marco Rubio ceasefire extension strait of Hormuz enriched uranium missile defense interceptors