US officials warn Trump's public statements could be derailing Iran talks - report

Negotiations between the United States and Iran appeared to be moving toward a possible deal to end the seven-week war as the weekend approached, but momentum quickly stalled after conflicting public statements and disputed claims about the status of the talks, according to multiple sources cited in a Monday CNN report.

US President Donald Trump engaged in a series of public comments on social media and in phone interviews on Friday morning, discussing ongoing negotiations as Pakistani intermediaries updated him on contacts between US and Iranian officials. The approach, described by officials as highly unusual for sensitive diplomacy, involved Trump commenting publicly on the state of the talks while they were still underway.

Trump claimed Iran had agreed to a range of provisions that sources familiar with the negotiations said had not yet been finalized. He also said Tehran had accepted some of the most contentious US demands, including transferring enriched uranium out of the country, and suggested that an end to the conflict was imminent.

Iranian officials publicly rejected several of those assertions and denied they were preparing for another round of talks, rapidly undermining the sense of progress that had emerged earlier in the week. The disagreement over the status of the negotiations has left uncertainty over whether diplomatic momentum can be restored.

According to CNN, some officials in the Trump administration privately acknowledged that the president’s public remarks may have complicated the process, citing the sensitivity of the negotiations and long-standing mistrust between Tehran and Washington as key factors.

With both sides presenting sharply different accounts of progress and intentions, the future of the talks remains unclear, and it is not yet known whether mediators will be able to reestablish a framework for continued negotiations.