By Humeyra Pamuk and Katharine Jackson
WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that Lebanon and Israel had agreed on a 10-day ceasefire and said the next meeting between the United States and Iran may take place over the weekend, adding to optimism that the Iran war may be nearing an end.
Trump told reporters outside the White House that Iran had offered not to have nuclear weapons for more than 20 years.
“We’re going to see what happens. But I think we’re very close to making a deal with Iran,” he said.
“I think we have a chance. And if that happens, oil goes way down, prices go way down, inflation goes way down, and … much more importantly than even that, you won’t have a nuclear holocaust.”
Trump said he was not sure a ceasefire with Iran would need to be extended beyond next week, and added that Tehran wanted to make a deal.
“We have a very good relationship with Iran right now, as hard as it is to believe,” Trump said. “And I think it’s a combination of about four weeks of bombing, and a very powerful blockade.”
Iran’s nuclear ambitions were a sticking point at last weekend’s talks. The U.S. proposed a 20-year suspension of all nuclear activity by Iran – an apparent concession from longstanding demands for a permanent ban. Tehran suggested a halt of three to five years, according to people familiar with the proposals.
Washington has pressed for any highly enriched uranium (HEU) to be removed from Iran. Tehran has demanded that international sanctions against it be lifted.
Two Iranian sources said there were signs of a compromise emerging on the HEU stockpile, with Tehran considering shipping part, but not all, of it out of the country, something it had previously ruled out.
Trump said in an earlier social media post that the Lebanon ceasefire would start at 5 p.m. EST (2100 GMT), aiming to halt a conflict between Israel and the Iran-aligned Lebanese group Hezbollah that was reignited by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
He said he had held “excellent conversations” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and planned to invite them both to the White House for “meaningful talks”.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaus, Writing by Lincoln Feast, Sharon Singleton, Timothy Heritage and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Andy Sullivan, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Alexandra Hudson, Andrew Heavens and Nia Williams)
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