Trump: Decided to Grant Opportunity to Negotiate with Iran in Response to Mediators.. and There is a "Good Chance" for Talks to Reach a Positive Outcome

Attempts by Iran-aligned militias to attack Saudi territory and launch drones into Jordan and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq breached the cautious calm that had gripped the region for a third day yesterday, after a halt in combat operations had revived hopes for a return to the negotiating table, particularly following the announcement by US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz that President Donald Trump had decided to give diplomacy with Iran “some room” while maintaining readiness to resume hostilities.

Trump, in remarks to journalists aboard the presidential plane en route to Michigan in the northern United States, stated that negotiations with Iran had a “good chance” of yielding a positive outcome.

The US president said, “We’ll see what happens. I think there is a good chance something will happen,” adding, “If it doesn’t, we’ll go back to what we were doing two days ago,” namely bombing Iran.

Trump had previously told Israel’s Channel 12 that he had responded to a request from mediators to allow an opportunity for negotiations with Iran, stating, “The mediating countries asked me not to launch military operations, and I believe the Iranians want to reach a deal.”

He added, “We are conducting deep negotiations with Iran, and if they fail, we will return to a wide-scale military operation.”

However, Trump emphasized that “the window of opportunity to achieve a breakthrough in negotiations is short, and I will not give a long time for negotiations.”

For his part, the Jordanian military announced the downing of two drones that targeted the kingdom, without specifying their origin.

A senior military source in the General Command of the Jordanian Armed Forces – Arab Army stated in an official bulletin that the Royal Jordanian Air Force intercepted and shot down two drones targeting Jordanian territory yesterday morning.

The source noted that the interception and downing operation resulted in no casualties or material damage, adding that Royal Engineers teams moved to the debris sites, handled the ordnance, and secured the areas in accordance with established technical and security procedures.

He confirmed that the armed forces continue to monitor the kingdom’s airspace and maintain the highest levels of operational readiness to respond to any threat targeting the security of the kingdom and the safety of its citizens.

In Iraq, Iranian-Kurdish opposition parties announced that positions belonging to them in Erbil had been targeted.

Al Jazeera channel quoted a leader of the opposition Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party stating that a drone attack was launched against party positions in the Qushtapa district of Erbil. Meanwhile, the opposition Iranian Kurdistan Freedom Party announced that a four-drone attack targeted party positions in Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

For its part, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that US forces had rerouted 17 commercial vessels, halted two, and inspected two others since the resumption of the naval blockade imposed on Iran.

CENTCOM stated in a post on the platform “X”: “US Central Command has rerouted 17 commercial vessels, halted two, and inspected two others to ensure compliance.”

In response, the Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that the current situation and the halt in military operations could not be described as a ceasefire. Spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, during a weekly press conference, said that media reports regarding a 10-day ceasefire between Iran and the United States were baseless.

He confirmed that parties seeking to de-escalate tensions over the past months had put forward several proposals. He added, “Over the past few days alone, we have held negotiations with the Sultanate of Oman and are seeking to establish a mechanism to regulate navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”