Trump says he had 'very good talks' with Iran; Tehran reviewing US peace proposal

US President Donald Trump said on May 6 that he has had 'very good negotiations' with Iran over the past 24 hours and that 'we are very likely to reach a deal,' as Tehran reviews a US peace proposal that sources say would formally end the war.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said: 'Look, this is very simple. Iran cannot have nuclear weapons because no matter how strong they are, we want to keep them alive. We want to keep all of you alive.'

In an interview with PBS, Trump also expressed optimism about reaching a deal with Iran before his planned trip to China next week. 'I think there is a very good chance to end this, and if it doesn't end, we will have to go back and bomb them very hard,' he said.

Trump said Iran should suspend its nuclear program and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while threatening to resume airstrikes if talks fail.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei downplayed reports that a deal with the US is imminent, calling them exaggerated. He said Tehran has not yet given a formal response to the latest US proposal, but continues to exchange diplomatic messages through Pakistani mediation.

A Pakistani source and another source familiar with the mediation process told Reuters that a deal was close on a one-page memorandum that would formally end the conflict. That would kick-start discussions to unlock shipping through the strait, lift US sanctions on Iran, and establish limits on Iran's nuclear program.

However, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing an unnamed source, said the US proposal contains some unacceptable terms, without specifying which ones. MP Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian parliament, described the text as 'more like a US wish list than reality.' He wrote on social media: 'The Americans will not achieve in a war they are losing what they have not achieved in direct negotiations.'

US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told Al Jazeera that Trump remains 'clear-eyed' about the temporary short-term disruptions caused by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, but Washington cannot 'normalize a country deciding who gets to use an international waterway.'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would speak with Trump later in the day about the ongoing talks with Iran, adding that both had agreed all enriched uranium must be removed from Iran to prevent it from developing a nuclear bomb. Iran has firmly refused to give up its enriched uranium, which it insists is not for making nuclear weapons.

Also on May 6, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that US forces operating in the Gulf of Oman disabled an Iranian-flagged oil tanker after it allegedly failed to comply with warnings. CENTCOM said the tanker M/T Hasna was spotted transiting international waters to an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman around 14:00 GMT. US forces issued 'multiple warnings' to the tanker, informing the crew that the vessel had violated the blockade, and the US blockade on ships attempting to enter or leave Iranian ports remains 'fully in effect.'

Earlier on May 5, Trump announced the suspension of 'Operation Freedom' — a US military operation to guide stranded commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz — after just one day, citing an opportunity to reach a deal to end the war. Trump wrote on social media that the unexpected decision to halt the mission came after requests from 'mediating Pakistan and other countries,' saying 'great progress has been made toward a complete and final deal' with Tehran.