President Donald Trump announced “major combat operations” against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
Following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire, initial U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan in April failed to reach a peace deal.
Trump later announced the open-ended extension of the ceasefire and the continuation of a U.S. blockade until negotiations are concluded “one way or the other.”
President Donald Trump said that negotiations with Iran are ongoing and that he could have an agreement or “at least an idea by one or two days from now.”
“I think it’s going well,” Trump said, claiming that for now, the blockade of Iranian ports continues to hold “100%.”
“We have a good chance of doing it,” the president said of a potential deal. “We should be able to do it in one hour if you want to know the truth. I don’t think there are any sticking points. I think we’re very…close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal.”
Trump also said that further military action is possible, but suggested that a deal is preferable.
Nathan Howard/Reuters – PHOTO: President Donald Trump reacts as he boards Air Force One, after attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, on June 8, 2026.
“If we go and bomb, which we can do very easily, if we want, and we spend another two or three weeks bombing, they’ll have nothing left whatsoever, but you won’t have the Strait open for months. If we do the bombing, you know a lot of people are going to be killed. Who wants to do that? I know, and we’ll get, we’ll have a signed document that’s actually stronger than doing the bombing,” Trump said.
Trump also said he “can’t blame” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for retaliating against Iran after the recent resumption of direct strikes between the warring parties.
Iran launched missiles toward Israel on Sunday in what it said was retaliation for Israeli strikes on the Lebanese capital Beirut, where the Israel Defense Forces said it was targeting the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militia.
Trump said he had “a very good conversation” with Netanyahu. “He was hit, and he hit back.”
“Now they’ve called it quits, so they’re gonna just leave each other alone for another week or something,” Trump added. “We’re in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal that will not allow in any way, shape, or form nuclear weapons, etc,” Trump said.
Trump said he told Netanyahu to stop striking because he wants to get a peace deal. “I said, ‘Do what’s right, but I want you to stop as quickly as you can,’ because they have to stop. It’s had to do with Lebanon, and it has to stop. We want to get it finished.”
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray
President Donald Trump appeared to confirm that a U.S. Army helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz, which was reported by The New York Times late on Monday.
Trump claimed that the pilots were not injured and that a report on the incident will be released on Tuesday.
“The pilots are fine,” the president said. “Nobody injured. We are going to issue a report tomorrow, but the pilots are fine,” Trump added, when asked about an update on the crash during a gaggle on the tarmac in New York following Game 3 of the NBA finals.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein – PHOTO: President Donald Trump talks with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum as he steps off Air Force One, early on June 9, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md.
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray
In a call with the Israeli prime minister, President Donald Trump told ABC News that he told Benjamin Netanyahu to “use his judgment” but warned not to hurt his effort to get a peace deal with Iran.
“I don’t want to do anything that’s going to hurt the deal, but I said, ‘You have to use your own judgment.’ Just go out and use your own judgment, but I don’t want the deal to be hurt,” Trump told ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl in a telephone interview on Monday.
The Associated Press – Trump Netanyahu Divisions
The president insisted that negotiations with Iran are actively going on and that “we’re trying to finish it up.” Trump said he wouldn’t say it’s “complicated,” saying, “It’s actually pretty simple. It’s the one with the power wins. We have all the power.”
He said that some of his “best friends” want him to start bombing again, but that “they don’t understand.” A resumption of wide-scale U.S. military attacks, he said, would be costly and result in the Strait of Hormuz being closed for months longer.
In a post on social media this morning, Trump said peace talks toward a deal are proceeding “subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way.” Asked what he meant by that, Trump told ABC News, “If people are stupid, we’ll end up in something where we have to wipe out an entire infrastructure of a nation, and I don’t think that’s a good thing, because somebody’s going to have to rebuild it.”
He suggested that if the U.S. destroyed Iran’s infrastructure, the U.S. would likely end up helping to pay to rebuild it.
“Somebody’s going to have to build all that infrastructure, new bridges, new this, new that, new power plants. You know, they’re talking about a trillion dollars, probably more. And you know that’s why we’ll probably get involved in rebuilding, right, helping them rebuild,” he said.
Asked if that would be like a Marshall Plan for Iran, Trump responded, “Yeah,” then quickly added, “But we’ll get half their oil.”
President Donald Trump told Axios that after Iran and Israel traded strikes Sunday night for the first time since the U.S. and Iran agreed to a ceasefire in April, he warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he might be “on [his] own very soon” if war resumed.
“I said, ‘Bibi, you better be careful, or you will be on your own very soon,'” Trump said in a phone interview on Monday.
Axios reported that Trump called Netanyahu on Sunday evening and asked him not to retaliate against Iran after they launched attacks at Israel.
Ghaith Alsayed/AP Photo – PHOTO: Farmers spray water in a burned agricultural field next to a projectile near the town of Najha, Syria, June 8, 2026, after debris from Iranian missile launches during the Iran-Israel conflict fell in the area.
Trump claimed in the interview with Axios that Israel “gave us very late notice” about Sunday’s strikes.
“They were already on their way. But eventually I had [the Israeli strike] limited,” Trump said.
Trump also told Axios he received calls from five different countries in the region asking him to press Netanyahu to stop.
“These countries were very concerned. They love the deal that we have been negotiating,” Trump said.
Trump also claimed his administration received messages from the Iranians on Monday morning stating a willingness to stop shooting if Israel did the same.
“They called us and said that they are not doing any more attacks and asked us to tell Israel not to do any more attacks,” Trump said.
-ABC News’ Isabella Murray
Iranian state TV IRIB reported that Iran’s airspace is reopening to “normal conditions.”
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone in two separate calls, once on Sunday and once on Monday, after Israel and Iran exchanged strikes over the weekend, a White House official and an Israeli source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement Monday that “in the past 24 hours, Iran and Hezbollah have tried to impose a new equation on us. And this equation is intolerable and unacceptable.”
“Iran and Hezbollah are weaker than ever, and we are stronger than ever — but our struggle with them is not over yet,” Netanyahu said.
AFP via Getty Images – PHOTO: Smoke rises from Israeli bombardment near the village of Kfar Tibnit as seen from nearby Marjayoun (Marjeyoun) in southern Lebanon, on June 6, 2026.
He added that the violent flareup from the last day “is contained,” but only because strikes on Israel from Iran stopped after Israel struck Iran.
“Israel has a full right to self-defense, and we exercise it to the extent necessary. I say this to you, as I say it with appreciation and respect in my good conversations with my friend President Trump,” Netanyahu said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
All flights in Iran have been canceled until further notice in the wake of the closure of western Iranian airspace, the nation’s Airports and Air Navigation Company announced Monday, according to Iranian state TV.
The only open airport is Mashhad International Airport, which the AANC said will remain open to facilitate people returning from the Hajj pilgrimage.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
Fifteen Iranians were injured in recent Israeli attacks on the country, the head of Iran’s emergency medical services said on Monday, according to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.
Fourteen of the injuries were reported in Mahshahr and one was in Tehran, he said, adding that no fatalities have been reported so far.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
The Iranian military’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a statement on Monday that Iran’s retaliation against Israel for attacks on Lebanon has concluded, but warned that if hostilities continue, Iran’s response will be more severe.
“A painful response was delivered to the Israeli regime, and the suspension of armed forces operations is announced,” the statement said, according to Iranian state media.
“If the aggressions and provocations continue, including in southern Lebanon, much more severe and decisive actions than before will follow,” the statement added.
Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images – PHOTO: People cross the street past a large billboard showing portraits of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (R) in central Tehran on June 8, 2026.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
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