Trump signals ‘active negotiation partner’ in Iran talks, hints at progress in negotiations

US President Donald Trump said on Monday (April 6) that the United States is dealing with an “active, willing participant” in negotiations with Iran, though he declined to provide further details about any ceasefire.

"I can't talk about ceasefire. But I can tell you that we have an active, willing participant on the other side. They would like to be able to make a deal. I can't say any more than that," Trump told reporters.

When asked about his threat to target Iranian power plants and bridges, Trump said, "No, not at all. I hope I don't have to do it." He added, "I can tell you they're negotiating, we think, in good faith. We're going to find out."

"We have to have a deal that's acceptable to me. And part of that deal is going to be we want free traffic of oil and everything," he said.

The president issued a stark military warning: "We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding, and never to be used again. I mean, complete demolition by 12 o'clock, and it'll happen over a period of four hours if we want it to. We don't want that to happen."

Trump also threatened to rain “hell” on Tehran if it did not accept the US deal by 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday (midnight GMT).

"They've actually gone out of their way not to help. They didn't even want to give us landing strips," Trump said. "And it's not just NATO. You know who else didn't help us? South Korea didn't help us. You know who else didn't help us, or Australia didn't help us? You know who else didn't help us? Japan."

"They should do, but again, the consequences are great ... they were told if you protest, you will be shot immediately," he said.