Trump flags Iran message, hopes Russia-Ukraine ceasefire expands

Washington, May 9 : US President Donald Trump said he expects to receive a message from Iran “tonight” as questions persist over the pace of nuclear negotiations, while also expressing hope that a brief Russia-Ukraine ceasefire could be extended.

“I’m getting a letter supposedly tonight. So we’ll see how that goes,” Trump told reporters before boarding Marine One on the White House South Lawn.

Pressed on whether Tehran was deliberately slowing the process, he said: “We’ll find out soon enough.”

The President signalled that Washington could escalate its approach if talks falter. “We’ll go a different route if everything doesn’t get signed up, buttoned up,” he said. “We may go back to Project Freedom if things don’t happen, but it’ll be Project Freedom Plus. Meaning Project Freedom plus other things.”

On the war in Ukraine, Trump described the conflict as “the worst thing since World War II” and said he would welcome any extension of the current limited ceasefire.

“Could be. It’d be nice. I’d like to see it stopped,” he said when asked if the pause in fighting could last longer than three days.

The President also pointed to what he described as strong domestic economic indicators. “We have more people working today than we ever had working in this country. The job numbers today were incredible,” he said.

Turning to public health, Trump sought to reassure on concerns around hantavirus cases, noting that officials were closely monitoring the situation.

“We seem to have things under very good control. They know that virus very well — it’s been around a long time. Not easily transferrable, unlike covid. We’ll see. We’re studying it very closely,” he said.

Asked separately about reports involving Dr Marty Makary, Trump said: “I’ve been reading about it, but I know nothing about it.”

On international engagements, the President said he had a “great meeting” with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, without offering further details.

When asked about political developments in the United Kingdom, Trump declined to comment in detail. “I sorta leave that to them, but I’m happy about everything,” he said, before listing his administration’s accomplishments.