US President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran was offering significant concessions as negotiations between the two sides are set to continue next week.
"The war is going very well. As you know, we're winning by a lot. Iran is making very big concessions. We'll see what happens, but it has been very, very, very powerful," Trump told reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday.
Later, after lunch with Senate Republicans, Trump told the reporters that Iran is being "very nice".
"They're agreeing to everything that I want, and they have to; otherwise, we just go back and do what we have to do," he added.
Last week, Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian electronically signed the “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding", which is intended to pave the way for ending the war launched by Washington and Tel Aviv against Iran on February 28.
Under the deal, Washington and Tehran are due to hold negotiations for 60 days, with the possibility of an extension, aimed at reaching a final agreement covering Iran’s nuclear programme and international sanctions.
Pakistan, the mediator, said the technical-level talks will resume next week, following a temporary pause.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US expects Iran to comply with its obligations under the interim deal.
"The president has been very clear that they need to keep those commitments. If they do, we'll keep going forward. If not, the president will have options at his disposal for what to do about it. Let's hope they keep those commitments," he said.
Earlier, Trump said that diplomatic talks with Iran would terminate instantly if Tehran attempts to collect fees from maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
He claimed Iranian officials assured Washington that there are “no tolls, no insurance costs, & no other charges of any kind” being sought or received from vessels transiting the strategic waterway.
“If this is false information, negotiations would end immediately,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
The US president also reiterated that no cash will be provided directly to Tehran.
