Trump Says Iran Deal Close to Avoid "A Lot of People Dead"
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism about ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran, stating, "We've had some very, very good talks with Iran," and suggesting that "something good" might be announced in the coming days.
In the same briefing, he sharply criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin amid Moscow's intensified aerial assaults on Ukraine, describing Putin as "absolutely crazy." These contrasting remarks underscore Trump's complex and divided stance on two of America's most pressing foreign policy challenges.
Newsweek has reached out to the State Department and the foreign ministries of Iran and Russia for comment.
Why It Matters
Progress in Iran's nuclear talks marks a key step in curbing Tehran's atomic ambitions, a long-standing concern for the U.S. and its allies. A deal could ease Middle East tensions, lower proliferation risks, and allow limited economic engagement. But uranium enrichment remains the main obstacle—Iran calls it a matter of sovereignty, while the U.S. sees it as a route to weaponization.
A diplomatic resolution with Iran could let the U.S. shift focus to other threats, including Russia's escalating war in Ukraine, where Trump's tougher rhetoric highlights America's foreign policy balancing act.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., Sunday, May 25, 2025.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., Sunday, May 25, 2025.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo
What to Know
After the fifth round of nuclear talks mediated by Oman in Rome, Trump said there had been "very, very good talks" and suggested news could come soon: "I don't know if I'll be telling you anything good or bad over the next two days, but I have a feeling I might be telling you something good." He added, "I'd love that to happen because I'd love to see no bombs dropped and a lot of people dead," but warned that military options remain if diplomacy fails.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called it "one of the most professional rounds" and said Tehran had "firmly stated" its position. The key obstacle remains uranium enrichment: Iran insists it will continue, "with or without a deal," while the U.S. demands a full halt.
Trump Rebukes Putin
Trump struck a starkly different tone when shifting from Iran to Russia, sharply criticizing Vladimir Putin following Moscow's largest aerial assault on Ukraine since 2022. "What the hell happened to him? He's killing a lot of people," he said, later posting on Truth Social that Putin "has gone absolutely crazy." He added that new sanctions were "absolutely" on the table, though none have yet been imposed.
Donald Trump Truth Social 05.25.25 08:46 PM EST
I've always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY! He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I'm not just talking about soldiers. Missiles… — Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) May 26, 2025
What People Are Saying
U.S. President Donald Trump: "We've had some very, very good talks with Iran... I think we could have some good news on the Iran front."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi: "The fact that we are now on a reasonable path... is itself a sign of progress."
Negar Mortazavi, Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy, editor and host of The Iran Podcast told Newsweek: "U.S. and Iran as well as Oman have all signaled an overall positive sense after the talks. Iran has publicly reiterated that zero enrichment can be a dealbreaker for them. And the fact that talks have not yet collapsed is an indication that the U.S. may be considering this red line. So I am hopeful that they can bridge the gap with the help of mediators."
What Happens Next
President Trump has promised an update on the Iran talks within days, which could signal either a breakthrough or a setback on the nuclear issue. Meanwhile, the U.S. faces pressure to respond firmly to Russia's intensified attacks in Ukraine, with new sanctions likely under serious consideration. How Washington manages these parallel crises will be critical for its global standing and security strategy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Pushes to Extend Federal Control of Washington Police, Eyes Broader Powers
U.S. President Donald Trump says he'll ask Congress to extend federal control over Washington D.C.'s police force beyond the 30 days allowed under current law — and he believes the move could serve as a model for other cities.
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Editorial: Saving lives no more — RFK risks us all in targeting mRNA vaccine research
Showing that his loyalty to his own anti-vax mentality is greater than his loyalty to President Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the dangerous quack atop the Department of Health and Human Services, has announced that he will be rescinding a half billion dollars in grants and contracts for the development of mRNA technology and vaccines. It was mRNA that was key to both the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna COVID vaccines that were created under Trump in his first term, but RFK does not like life-saving vaccines and so he's pulling the plug. Part of the problem with policymaking at the level of the federal government is that the impacts are often too large, too long-winded, too abstract to really be able to nearly encompass their full breadth, particularly for busy people who have their own immediate concerns to worry about. In this case, though, we can point to very clear, very grim and almost unavoidable repercussions directly caused by this decision: many people worldwide — including in the United States — will die deaths that could have been prevented. Setting aside all of the jargon, at its most basic level a vaccine is about allowing the body to ward off or survive pathogens that would otherwise be extremely dangerous and debilitating or kill a person outright. The model itself is far from new; inoculations in some form of another, including the basic utilization of a dead virus to create antibodies that can attack a live one, date back centuries. What's mainly changed since then is that we have only advanced our understanding and technology to keep infectious diseases from running rampant in our society. One such technological leap was the mRNA process, an innovation so significant that its pioneers won the Nobel prize. The effectiveness and the safety of this process has been well-documented in research settings, but we don't even have to parse the studies to know this because we all collectively lived it. As Trump's Operation Warp Speed produced, the first and most widespread COVID inoculations were mRNA-based vaccines, which enabled us to blunt the rampaging pandemic and much more quickly return our society to a semblance of normalcy. Those COVID vaccines have already been synthesized, but the real issue here are the ones that haven't, or even the inoculations for viruses that we have not even identified or think to be a threat today. Whether we like it or not, our relationship to infectious diseases is something akin to an arms race, in which we are constantly trying to counteract pathogens that, by dint of evolution, are constantly finding ways to elude our defenses and sicken us. We've stayed largely on top of this arms race over the last six decades or so in particular because of constant efforts that have developed sophisticated tools to fight back, including mRNA. A disarmament here for no other reason than ideologically-driven conspiracy that drives Bobby Kennedy is going to mean that we give the diseases an opening, which they will no doubt exploit to sicken and kill us. There are quite simply no two ways about it, and any pause in the research could have dire consequences, even if it is reversed later. Ongoing and sometimes multimonth or even multiyear projects will lose funding and might have to be shut down, with all their efforts wasted. There's no way to really put the genie back in the bottle so we have to stop it in the first place, which means RFK must be fired immediately or impeached and removed by Congress. Many lives hang in the balance. _____
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Now Jimmy Fallon Is Using Taylor Swift To Suggest Trump Had Sinister Ties To Epstein
Jimmy Fallon is on a roll in taunting President Donald Trump with sexual jokes ― and some are making insinuations about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. (Watch the video below.) On Wednesday the 'Tonight Show' host was back at it again, using Taylor Swift songs to sum up the president's Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Fallon got a big response for noting that Americans are worried that Trump isn't ready for the talks to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine 'since his mind is basically a giant 'Blank Space.' ' Then the comedian waded into very sensitive territory. 'Also, he's distracted by the Epstein scandal. He'll tell Putin it's been a 'Cruel Summer' because everyone thinks 'I Did Something Bad' but I swear everyone on the island was '22.′' 'Oooooh,' the audience reacted in he-really-went-there fashion. Fast-forward to 1:50 for the Swift-Trump bit: To be clear, Trump reportedly has never been investigated over anything involving the late Epstein. The sex offender's hobnobbing with celebrities and politicians has generated high interest in what government files potentially contain about them. And while Trump was reportedly told by Attorney General Pam Bondi that he is mentioned in the files, the context is not publicly known. Trump brought some suspicion on himself by suddenly declaring the files to be a hoax. But some Republicans are backing a bipartisan House push for the release of all the files related to Epstein. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) appears to be hindering the process. Fallon has taunted Trump for a while on his about-face on the Epstein front. On Monday the host noted that the president had hoped for a 'trilateral meeting' of peace talks involving Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy. 'Last time Trump had a trilateral meeting was on Epstein Island,' Fallon cracked. On Tuesday, he again parlayed monologue chatter about the summit into another naughty dig at the commander in chief. 'Trump said that in his meeting with Putin, he will know probably in the first two minutes whether a deal is possible,' the host said. 'It's reassuring when a president talks about ending a war like a Tinder date.' 'Yep,' Fallon continued, 'Trump says that he'll know in two minutes, which makes sense because, according to Stormy Daniels, two minutes is plenty.' Related... A Funny Thing Happened To Ratings When Jimmy Fallon Had Fox News Host As Guest Jimmy Fallon Again Talks Dirty About Trump And We're Here For It Jimmy Fallon's Filthy Trump Burn Over Putin Meeting Gets A 'Whoa' From Audience
