US President Donald Trump said US-Iran negotiations will continue over the weekend and that he doesn't believe there are "significant differences" between the warring sides, even amid signs of a potential split among Iranian leaders.
“A big day [today]. We'll see how it all turns out, but it should be good, some very good discussions,” Trump told reporters in Phoenix, Arizona, on April 17.
“The talks are going on and going over the weekend, and a lot of good things are happening. That includes Lebanon, too.”
He didn't specify a timeframe for talks and whether negotiations would entail face-to-face sessions or messages exchanged via Pakistani mediators.
CNN, citing Iranian sources, reported that delegations would arrive in Islamabad over the weekend and that official talks would resume on April 20. The White House did not comment on that report.
On April 11-12, US Vice President JD Vance led a delegation in talks with top Iranian officials in Islamabad. Those talks broke off without agreement and with both sides blaming the other for the failed outcome.
In his April 17 comments, Trump rejected the suggestion that major disagreements remain in negotiations.
“I don't think there's too many significant differences,” he said. “If there are, I'm going to straighten it out.”
On how long he would be willing to maintain a blockade of Iranian ports tied to the talks, Trump said it would be lifted immediately upon a deal being reached.
“When the agreement is signed, the blockade ends,” he said.
Axios quoted Trump as saying, "I think we'll get a deal in the next day or two.”
In Photos: Week Seven Of The Iran War
Status Of The Strait
A contentious issue -- the status of the Strait of Hormuz -- appeared to inch closer to possible settlement, although some disagreements remain amid a possible split among the Iranian leadership.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran has opened the strait to commercial shipping traffic for the remainder of the 10-day cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon, with Trump thanking the Iranian leadership for the move as a step helping the peace process.
"Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again. It will no longer be used as a weapon against the World!" Trump wrote in a social media post.
However, officials in Tehran later said that Iran would close the strait again if the US blockade of its ports were not lifted, perhaps setting up a new standoff.
"With the continuation of the blockade, the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open," powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf wrote on X following criticism of the decision and Araqchi himself from hard-line media outlets close to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
Qalibaf has led the Iranian delegation in negotiations with Washington and is seen by many as the power behind the Iranian regime.
The strait, which leads to the Persian Gulf and was the conduit for 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war began, had been effectively closed to traffic amid Tehran's strikes at targets around the Middle East.
The move sent oil prices skyrocketing and shook the global economy. But oil prices dropped sharply and stock prices rose on world markets on April 17 following the announcement of the reopening.
Fate Of Enriched Uranium
The US president on April 17 repeated his suggestion that Tehran has agreed to give up its stocks of enriched uranium -- which, enriched to a certain level, can be used in nuclear weapons.
Some confusion remained over precisely what material Trump was referring to. Tehran denied it had agreed to give up its supply, saying, "Iran's enriched uranium is not going to be transferred anywhere."
"Transfer of Iran's enriched uranium to the US has never been raised in negotiations," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei.
Reuters cited Trump as referring to "nuclear dust" and said it would be retrieved "very soon."
The report added that Trump's mention of “nuclear dust” was a reference to what he believes remains after the US and Israel bombed Iran's nuclear installations" in June 2025, although Trump has occasionally referred to enriched uranium as "nuclear dust."
Later, during a speech before the ultraconservative Turning Point USA group's conference in Phoenix, Trump also referred to "nuclear dust."
"Somebody said, how are we going to get the nuclear dust? We're going to get it by going in with Iran, with lots of excavators," Trump said. "But we're going to go in together with Iran. We're going to get it. We're going to take it back home to the USA very soon."
He added that no money would be changing hands in a deal with Iran. Some media reports had suggested that the US would release frozen Iranian assets in exchange for the right to take control of Tehran's enriched uranium.
