WASHINGTON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration received a call from Iran on Monday morning, claiming that Tehran "would like to make a deal very badly" but also signaling Washington's eagerness to reach a deal to end the conflict.
Trump did not reveal whether Washington has agreed to another round of talks before the ceasefire expires on April 21, though multiple U.S. media outlets, citing U.S. officials and regional sources, said both Washington and Tehran leave room for further talks.
"We've been called by the other side," Trump told reporters at the White House. "They'd like to make a deal very badly."
If a deal is not reached with Iran to end the war by the end of the ceasefire, "it won't be pleasant for them," Trump threatened.
He insisted that the sticking point in talks with Iran "was over nuclear" and a priority for the United States is to retrieve Iran's enriched uranium.
"We're going to get the (uranium) dust back. We'll get it back. Either we'll get it back from them or we'll take it," Trump reiterated.
"We agreed to a lot of things, but they didn't agree to that, and I think they will agree to it. I'm almost sure of it. In fact, I am sure of it. If they don't agree, there's no deal. There will never be a deal," he said of U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan on Saturday.
The United States and Iran are still engaged in talks as the two sides work toward a diplomatic off-ramp for the war, a U.S. official told CNN on Monday.
Mediators from Pakistan, Egypt and Türkiye are working to revive negotiations between the United States and Iran before the current ceasefire expires, according to reports.
"We are not in a complete deadlock. The door is not closed yet. Both sides are bargaining. It's a bazaar," a regional source has told U.S. online media outlet Axios.
Local analysts say Washington has pressed Tehran to freeze uranium enrichment and relinquish its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, while Iran is seeking the release of frozen funds and broader sanctions relief.
The Turkish and Egyptian foreign ministers held separate phone calls with their counterpart in Pakistan. Both then spoke to White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, according to the Axios report.
Trump's latest remarks came hours after the U.S. military imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and his threat that the U.S. military will "eliminate" any ship of Iran if it comes close to the U.S. blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
He claimed on Truth Social on Monday that as many as 34 ships went through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, asserting it is by far the highest number since the closure of the crucial global energy waterway days after the United States and Israel launched massive attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. However, the maritime data firm Kpler reported only 14 on Sunday.
U.S. officials have indicated that military pressure, partly aimed to prevent Iran from using the crucial global energy waterway as leverage in the talks, remains part of the negotiating strategy, said the Axios report. ■