Trump says 'positive momentum' toward ending US-Iran conflict

US President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters following a meeting with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani at the White House in Washington DC, US, November 9, 2026. /VCG US President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters following a meeting with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani at the White House in Washington DC, US, November 9, 2026. /VCG US President Donald Trump said on Monday that there was "positive momentum" toward ending the US-Iran conflict after meeting with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani at the White House.Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and other regional countries favored maintaining the current US naval blockade of Iran alongside the newly launched Operation Iron Gate, which seeks to restrict Iran's land-based supply routes, Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.The countries "would prefer the status quo," Trump wrote, adding that they all agree that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, which he called "non-negotiable." Iran has repeatedly maintained that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.Iran has made the offer ​to shorten the time to restart talks from an ‌earlier ⁠seven-day proposal, which calls for Washington to first meet conditions including halting hostilities, lifting a blockade and waiving sanctions."Is it unreasonable that ​Iran demands that US illegal sanctions ⁠and its naval blockade must be lifted ​before negotiations start and that the war should ​end on all fronts?" Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said at a weekly press conference.Trump added that while US forces remain ready for further military action the possibility of renewed military strikes on Iran is low."Should there be any change with respect to developments in the Middle East, the United States of America is 'locked and loaded' and ready to go," Trump said. "At this point, however, that seems to be quite unlikely.""We are seeing positive momentum toward an end to this Conflict," Trump said, offering no details.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that diplomatic efforts had made little progress and that a breakthrough was not imminent.(With input from agencies)