WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States was open to engaging with Iran on a peace deal, signalling a shift towards negotiations to end the conflict after weeks of renewed escalation between the US and Iran.
In a post on his Truth Social network, Trump said Iran wanted to reach a deal quickly and badly.
“The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly. I will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage – The concept of which we are open to,” Trump said.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 14, 2026
On Sunday, Trump reiterated that he expected the Iran war to end this year. Trump added that the price of gasoline would “drop like a rock” once the Iran war ended.
“We’ll ultimately get out (of Iran), unless we decide to stay and keep the oil like Venezuela,” Trump said, adding that the US revenue from Venezuela has “paid for the war many times”.
Iran ‘wants a deal so badly’: Trump
Trump said on Sunday that Iran was seeking a deal with the US “so badly” that it was calling constantly. He said that the war with Iran could end before or after the US midterm elections in November.
“Iran wants to make a deal so badly. They are calling constantly,” Trump told reporters in Doonbeg, Ireland, where he was attending a golf tournament.
Trump said the war could end before the midterm elections, but would continue until after the vote if no agreement was reached earlier. “Look, it could end before the midterm. But it will end after the midterm,” he said.
Also Read: Trump Hopes Iran War Will End Soon After US Midterms, Predicts Sharp Fall in Oil Prices
Trump added that Iran would not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon and said he would not agree to a bad deal. “Iran wants to strike a deal at any cost, but I will not make a bad deal. Iran will not obtain a nuclear weapon, and we will not allow it to do so,” he said.
‘Iran wants to make a deal SO BADLY, they’re calling constantly’ — Trump
‘Look, [the war] could end before the midterm, but it will end after the midterm’ https://t.co/acBnre16PH pic.twitter.com/40suPZ2ng3
— RT Intl (@RT_on_X) September 13, 2026
Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged the US to return to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), ISNA news agency reported.
“Iran’s condition for reopening the Strait of Hormuz is the return of the United States to its commitments in the Islamabad MoU,” Araghchi was quoted as saying.
Surge in oil prices
On Monday, crude oil spiked to $107 a barrel, one of the highest since the US and Israel launched its war on Iran. Trump said that he would only make the “right deal”, before drawing a parallel with the US deal in Venezuela, announced in August.
Stocks of crude oil in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell to 285 million barrels last week, the lowest level since November 1982, Reuters reported citing data from the Department of Energy.
Also Read: Oil Tops $107 As Hormuz Crisis Deepens Supply Fears
The drawdowns are part of a US agreement to release 172 million barrels from the facility.
Meanwhile, Europe’s gas reserves are low and the situation around the Strait of Hormuz may be prolonged, the global chief executive officer (CEO) of JERA, Japan’s biggest power generator, said, according to Reuters.
Liquefied natural gas and gas from Russia to Europe will stop on January 1 next year, and gas prices may rise further, Yukio Kani, Global CEO and Chair of JERA, said at an energy forum in Bangkok.
Oil shipments through Hormuz rising
The seven-day rolling average of covert oil shipments accompanied by the US Navy through the Strait of Hormuz is rising and will continue to rise, Reuters reported, citing US Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s comments at a meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog.
“The trend in that seven-day rolling average has been going up and will continue to go up,” he told a press conference, adding that a peak of 17 million barrels in one day he cited on September 1 was in fact higher: “There was one ship not counted. It turned out it was almost spot on 18 million barrels that day.”
Also Read: Iran ‘Wants a Deal So Badly,’ War Could End Before or After Midterms: Trump
Chris Wright said the US opposed the Iranian nuclear agency chief attending an annual conference of the UN nuclear watchdog.
“He’s a sanctioned individual, and we don’t want sanctioned individuals evading their sanctions. He asked for a waiver of the sanctions and it was denied,” Wright told reporters in Vienna, the seat of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Pakistan vows to continue efforts for regional peace
Earlier on Sunday, mediator Pakistan’s Prime Minister Sharif said that he, along with Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, would continue their efforts for defusing tensions and bringing peace in the region. PM Sharif said this during a telephone call with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman appreciated Pakistan for its steadfast support to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as its efforts for peace and stability in the region.
Telephone Call between the Prime Minister and Saudi Crown Prince His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held a telephonic conversation with His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince & Prime… pic.twitter.com/bHABfUVhBu
— Prime Minister's Office (@PakPMO) September 13, 2026
On Saturday, Trump said that the Iran war would likely end soon after November’s midterm elections and predicted that oil prices would fall sharply once the Middle East conflict ends.
“I think very soon, I think it’ll be right after the midterms, actually,” Trump said on a trip to Ireland when asked by reporters when the Iran war is likely to end. “I would say shortly, and oil will come tumbling down when that happens.”
“They’re trying to hold out as long as they can to complicate the election. But I think people are wise to it,” Trump told reporters in Dublin.
Iran war will end ‘I think VERY SOON, probably right after the midterms’ — Trump
‘And oil prices will come tumbling down when that happens’ https://t.co/x3FRrej07f pic.twitter.com/ymJ15jX5cU
— RT Intl (@RT_on_X) September 12, 2026
On Wednesday, Trump also said that the war with Iran would end “immediately” after the US midterm elections.
“I think the war’s going to end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer,” Trump told reporters before travelling to Dallas for a Republican Party midterm convention.
