U.S. and Iran officials signal progress in negotiations amid fragile ceasefire

Officials from the U.S. and Iran appear to be nearing a deal to end the ongoing conflict, according to public statements from officials from both nations Saturday.

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A potential deal would come after a fragile, almost two-month ceasefire between the two nations and weeks of negotiations.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in India on Saturday that “there may be news later today” regarding Iran, though he didn’t specify what the news might be.

Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told state media that “we are very far from and very close to an agreement.” He added that the positions of the U.S. and Iran in negotiations “have become closer, but not to the point of an agreement rather to the point where a solution may be possible.”

President Donald Trump was expected to hold a call at 1 p.m. ET today with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and Pakistan to discuss the situation with Iran, according to three regional officials with knowledge of the talks.

But in a phone call Saturday with Axios, the president resumed previous threats against Iran that have made the ongoing ceasefire tense at times. Trump told the news outlet there was a “50/50” chance of making a “good” deal or “blow[ing] them to kingdom come.”

Trump told the outlet that he would meet with White House negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Saturday and that he would likely make a decision by Sunday on whether to resume the war.

In that same interview, he floated a deal that would include a 60-day ceasefire with Iran, a possibility that Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., slammed.

“The rumored 60-day ceasefire — with the belief that Iran will ever engage in good faith — would be a disaster. Everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!” Wicker, the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee wrote in a post on X.

On Thursday, there appeared to be renewed energy in ongoing negotiations, with Trump saying the two nations could reach a deal to end the war in just a few days.

Earlier in the week, Trump said he’d called off a planned attack on Iran after regional U.S. allies urged him to hold off because negotiations were moving in a positive direction.

Still, on Monday, the president warned in a post on Truth Social that he’d told U.S. military leaders “to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached.”

The war began in late February with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and has led to surging oil prices and threats of escalation, including Trump’s statement in April that “a whole civilization will die tonight.”

The conflict has led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and cost U.S. taxpayers over $25 billion, per estimates from the Pentagon to U.S. lawmakers last month. Thousands of people have been killed across the region, including more than 3,000 in Iran, according to an official from the country.