President Donald Trump said Iran talks could produce a deal over the weekend, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said negotiations had made “no tangible progress.”
Trump made the comments at the White House on Wednesday as fresh U.S.-Iran strikes tested a fragile April 8 ceasefire. Trump said the negotiation was going “very well” and said a result could come soon.
He also said he wanted to separate U.S.-Iran talks from the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon. Tehran says the two tracks remain linked. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpiles remain central to the talks.
Washington wants Tehran to turn over near-weapons-grade uranium, curb nuclear work and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Araghchi told Lebanon’s Al Mayadeen TV that communication with Washington had not stopped. However, he said no tangible progress had been made, Tasnim reported.
He also warned that any Israeli attack on Beirut would carry “grave consequences” and could restart the wider war.
Kuwaiti officials said an Iranian drone strike hit a passenger terminal at Kuwait International Airport, killing one person and injuring 63.
India’s foreign ministry said the person killed was an Indian national. The Guardian also reported one death and 63 injuries in the Kuwait airport strike during the latest Gulf escalation.
Kuwait suspended air traffic and diverted arriving flights after the attack. Kuwait Airways later restarted flights.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards denied targeting the airport. They blamed a malfunction in U.S. Patriot systems.
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U.S. Central Command released footage showing a strike on the Botswana-flagged M/T Lexie tanker, which it said was sailing toward an Iranian port in violation of an American blockade.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNBC that Iran was “playing with fire.” He said Trump had warned of a possible full return to military action if needed.
