US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he was “very optimistic” a peace deal with Iran.
In an interview with NBC, Donald Trump said deal with Iran was within reach as a diplomatic delegation led by Vice President JD Vance prepared to head to Pakistan for high-stakes talks aimed at ending the nearly six-week conflict.
Iran’s leaders “talk much differently when you’re at a meeting than they do to the press. They’re much more reasonable,” Donald Trump said in a phone interview. “They’re agreeing to all the things that they have to agree to. Remember, they’ve been conquered. They have no military.”
“If they don’t make a deal, it’s going to be very painful,” Trump added.
Islamabad talks: US-Iran ceasefire negotiations LIVE updates – 10 April, 2026
In a phone call Wednesday, Trump asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pull back on the strikes to help ensure the success of the upcoming negotiations, two senior administration officials told NBC News. Trump confirmed that conversation in his interview with NBC News on Thursday, saying the Israelis were “scaling back” operations in Lebanon.
“I spoke with Bibi and he’s going to low-key it. I just think we have to be sort of a little more low-key,” Trump said. Vance, speaking to reporters in Hungary on Wednesday, used similar rhetoric, saying the Israelis may “check themselves a little bit” in the assault on Lebanon.