Last Updated on March 30, 2026 12:08 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
AMN Web Desk
US President Donald Trump has said that indirect negotiations between the US and Iran, facilitated by Pakistani “emissaries”, were ongoing and making positive progress.
Trump remarks came during an interview with the Financial Times, when asked if a ceasefire deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be reached in the coming days. Trump stressed that indirect talks between the US and Iran via Pakistani “emissaries” were progressing well. Trump has set a deadline of April 6 for Iran to accept a deal ending the war or face US strikes on its energy sector.
“We’ve got about 3,000 targets left – we’ve bombed 13,000 targets – and another couple of thousand targets to go,” Trump said, adding: “A deal could be made fairly quickly”.
He also referred to his comments last week, when he said Iran had permitted 10 Pakistan-flagged oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz as a “present” to the White House. He said Iran has doubled the number, and that Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, had authorised the move.
“He’s the one who authorised the ships to me,” Trump said. “Remember, I said they’re giving me a present? And everyone said, ‘What’s the present? Bullshit.’ When they heard about that, they kept their mouth shut, and the negotiations are going very well.”
Donald Trump says US could ‘take the oil in Iran’
In the interview Trump also said he would favour seizing Iran’s oil resources, including the key export hub of Kharg Island, as Washington boosts its military presence in the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict.
Trump signalled that taking control of Iranian oil infrastructure was under consideration, drawing parallels with Venezuela, where the United States aims to control the oil sector “indefinitely” after the removal of leader Nicolas Maduro.
“To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran, but some stupid people back in the US say: ‘Why are you doing that?’ But they’re stupid people.”
His remarks come as the US-Israeli war with Iran has pushed the region deeper into crisis, driving oil prices sharply higher, with Brent crude climbing above $116 a barrel in Asian trading.
Any such move would likely involve taking control of Kharg Island, a strategic terminal through which most of Iran’s crude exports pass.