Trump says Iran is not ready for a deal, reversing earlier remark

The reversal comes as Iran's security chief says talks will not happen until Tehran's demands are met.

Trump said on Wednesday evening that Iran is not ready to make a deal. He reversed his earlier statement that Tehran wants one. He also said the war with Iran will end "very soon."

Vice President Vance has described the conflict as entering a managed phase after the midterms.

Iran's own security chief has said talks will not happen until its demands are met. Blinken said this week that Trump has put the US in a very difficult position on Iran, and that Gulf states are looking to open their own separate talks with Tehran. Gulf states are weighing those talks now.

The fighting has not stopped. A US-contracted ship was hit in a fresh round of Gulf shipping attacks this week, and explosions were reported on Iran's Qeshm Island on Tuesday, according to local sources cited by Iran's state news agency. US officials have also held talks with Houthi representatives in Oman.

The economic cost is already being felt. Von der Leyen has said the conflict added €90 billion to the EU's fossil fuel import bill. Commerce Secretary Phelan has said higher oil prices are starting to bleed through into the broader economy, and members of the Bank of Canada's governing council have flagged elevated inflation risk tied to oil and the conflict. A real deal would reverse the war's trajectory and could ease the pressure on oil prices and inflation.

Trump's latest remarks give no detail on Iran's actual position. Before reversing course, he had said Tehran wants a deal. US officials have struck a similarly upbeat tone for months, and that has not yet produced any diplomatic movement.