Trump says U.S. having 'good talks' with Iran, but more strikes possible if negotiations fail

Trump says U.S. having 'good talks' with Iran, but more strikes possible if negotiations fail

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq report drone attacks Monday

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday the United ‌States was having "good talks" with Iran and there was a chance of a deal over their conflict, but warned that U.S. strikes would resume if the negotiations failed to deliver.

Despite Trump's optimism, Tehran appeared to quickly test the pause in the U.S. military campaign, with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq reporting drone attacks on Monday.

Washington abruptly suspended a two-week campaign of air strikes against Iran on Saturday in Trump's latest strategic U-turn in the five-month-old conflict.

"We're having good talks," he said. "I think there's a good chance that something ​could happen, and if it does, good, if it doesn't, we go back to doing what we ​were doing two days ago."

At a campaign rally in Michigan later on Monday, Trump said of Iran: "You can't bribe them. You've got to beat them, and we'll beat the hell out of them. But we'll see how it turns out. Right now, there are very friendly negotiations going on."

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday that messages were still being passed between the ​sides through mediators and Iran had not forsaken diplomacy, but reports about Iran requesting negotiations were "fabricated."

"This is not in our DNA," he said.

Iran's central ‌military command later on Monday accused the U.S. of threatening vessels and oil tankers in its territorial waters and of "attempting to implement an illegal maritime blockade," which it said "constitutes an escalation of the conflict in the region."

Saudi Arabia said it shot down ‌drones aimed at petroleum targets, including in the capital Riyadh. It said they had been launched from Iraq by Iran-backed armed groups, and it reserved the right to respond.

Separately, Iran's Houthi allies in Yemen said they had targeted the 1,200-kilometre east-west pipeline carrying oil to Saudi Arabia's main Red Sea port of Yanbu, in retaliation for what they said were Saudi drone incursions into Yemeni airspace.

Iran says it retains control of Hormuz

Iran also said it has remained in control of the contested Strait ‌of Hormuz, the key ⁠waterway for global energy supplies, which Trump has demanded vessels be able to pass through freely.

Public disapproval of the war has been weighing on Trump and his Republican Party ahead of November midterm elections in which they have to defend slim congressional majorities.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted over the weekend showed Trump's approval rating ticking higher to 37 per cent, ‌up three points from last month when it tied the lowest of his presidency.

However, just one in three Americans support the Iran war, the lowest Reuters/Ipsos reading since the conflict's early days, with most saying Trump has failed to explain his goals.

The end of the U.S. campaign after 13 successive nights of intensifying bombing and Trump's remarks on talks with Tehran sent oil prices tumbling. Brent crude, which had briefly ticked above $100 US a barrel last week for the first time since May, fell around 8.2 per cent on Monday to just below $89 US, having fallen ‌as low as $87.55 US.

Trump's decision to suspend the campaign reflected advice from his military that the bombing had reached the limits of what it could achieve, according to a U.S. official and several U.S. media reports.

The U.S. official told Reuters that military commanders had advised the president they were running out of targets. The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, had expressed concern over the depletion of air munitions, the official said.

Speaking to reporters, Trump dismissed suggestions that the U.S. faced munitions shortages, ​saying the military was rapidly rebuilding inventories depleted by shipments to Ukraine. He said he would like more of "the more sophisticated stuff."

Several Iranian state media outlets cited an "informed source" as saying that Iran had turned around six "offending ships" ⁠on Monday morning that had attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz without its permission.

Trump launched his renewed bombing campaign to punish Iran after Tehran fired on ships using a route ⁠promoted by the United States, which told vessels to sail close to the coast of Oman.

Iran says ships may pass only through a Hormuz channel that runs closer to ⁠its own ⁠coast, which it controls and where it intends to impose transit fees.

The ​two weeks of renewed U.S. bombing killed scores of people in Iran and destroyed bridges and tunnels across the south as well as military targets.

Four U.S. service members were killed by Iran's ​return fire against U.S. bases in neighbouring Arab states. Iran ⁠also struck civilian infrastructure in Gulf countries, calling it retaliation for U.S. strikes.

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Trump, Netanyahu and their different priorities with Iran

It remains unclear what leverage Washington can exert to achieve Trump's aim to break Iran's grip on the strait.

Washington and Tehran reached an agreement in June on a framework for talks meant to take place by the end of August to resolve major issues such as Iran's nuclear program.

But the sides have disputed the meaning of the memorandum's language about the strait, with Washington insisting it requires Tehran to allow free travel while Iran says it grants it the authority to ⁠supervise transit.