Trump sees ‘positive momentum’ to end Iran war after Qatar talks

• Trump said there is "positive momentum" towards ending the US-Iran conflict following talks with Qatar's prime minister

• He said regional countries support maintaining the US naval blockade and preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, while warning that US forces remain ready for further action

• US secretary of state Marco Rubio struck a cautious note, saying diplomatic talks had made little progress and no breakthrough was imminent

US President Donald Trump has said there is "positive momentum" toward ending the ongoing US-Iran conflict following a meeting with Qatari Prime Minister and foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani at the White House.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and other regional countries supported maintaining the existing US naval blockade of Iran, alongside the newly launched Operation Iron Gate, aimed at restricting Iran's land-based supply routes.

Trump said the countries preferred maintaining the current situation and agreed that Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, describing the issue as "non-negotiable". Iran, however, has consistently maintained that its nuclear programme is intended solely for peaceful purposes.

Despite signalling progress towards a possible resolution, Trump said US forces remained prepared to resume military operations if the situation changed. However, he suggested that further strikes against Iran were unlikely at this stage.

"The United States of America is 'locked and loaded' and ready to go," Trump warned, while adding that renewed military action currently appeared unlikely.

"We are seeing positive momentum toward an end to this conflict," he said, without providing further details about the diplomatic efforts.

During a White House press conference on Monday, Trump also claimed that Iran's military capabilities had been effectively neutralised, saying Washington was maintaining the existing situation rather than pursuing further military action.

"At this point, taking the military action doesn't seem to be a very necessary thing," he added.

However, US secretary of state Marco Rubio offered a more cautious assessment of the diplomatic efforts. Speaking to reporters on Sunday at Homestead Air Reserve Base in Florida, before travelling to France for a G7 foreign ministers' meeting, Rubio said there had been little progress in negotiations and that an agreement was not imminent.

"I don't have any progress to report to you," Rubio said, adding that several countries were continuing to engage Iran and explore possible solutions.

He also dismissed suggestions that a major diplomatic breakthrough was close.

"I wouldn't say we're on the verge of a breakthrough," he said.

Rubio reiterated that Trump preferred resolving international disputes through diplomacy whenever possible, but acknowledged that negotiations did not always produce results.

"The president would always prefer to solve this and every problem diplomatically. Sometimes that's not possible, unfortunately. But if there's a chance to do it, we'll explore it," he added.

With IANS inputs