Trump says Iran ‘wants to talk’ and U.S. has time for negotiations as nuclear guarantee remains central demand

President Donald Trump said Friday that talks with Iran were continuing and that Washington was not under immediate pressure to conclude them.

“There are talks. They want to talk. They keep talking,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have time, frankly. It’s a war, but it is not a typical war.”

His comments came hours after he told Kansas City radio station KCMO that the conflict with Iran would be “wrapped up soon” and that any settlement would require a guarantee Tehran never acquires a nuclear weapon.

Trump also argued that the financial cost of the Iran war had been more than offset by U.S. gains from Venezuela.

“Any money we’ve spent in Iran, we’ve more than made up for with what we did in Venezuela,” he said, claiming the United States had taken in “hundreds of billions of dollars, many, many times.”

That figure is disputed. Independent estimates have placed Venezuelan oil revenue associated with the current U.S. arrangement far below Trump’s claim, while a Pentagon estimate put the cost of the Iran war at about $47.1 billion through Oct. 16.

During the same White House appearance, Trump also defended his refusal to impose additional sanctions on Russia while negotiating the release of American Stephen Hubbard and discussing Ukraine with Moscow.

“Stupid people wanted me to put sanctions on Russia,” Trump said.

Trump has argued that imposing new sanctions during sensitive negotiations would risk disrupting talks with President Vladimir Putin.