U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that a peace agreement with Iran is now near, noting that Iran’s current leaders have become “more rational” in closed‑door meetings.
In remarks to NBC, Trump said: “I am optimistic that a peace agreement with Iran is close… Iran’s leaders speak very differently in meetings than they do to the press.”

He added: “Iran’s leaders have become much more rational and are agreeing to everything they need to agree to,” stressing that failure to reach an agreement would be very painful for the Iranians.

Trump continued, "The Iranians have been crushed, and they no longer have an army,” adding, "The Israelis are scaling back their operations in Lebanon, and I spoke with Netanyahu—he will handle the situation calmly.”