Over two months have passed since US President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire with Iran, claiming that an agreement was near.
On April 7, Trump stated on social media that although they were “very far along”, “the Agreement to be finalised and consummated” would take two weeks. “It is an honour to have this long-term problem close to resolution,” he had said.
Naturally, there was no conclusion. However, in the two months that have passed, Trump has persisted in implying that a deal is imminent.
He has done it at least 37 times, counting the time before the truce. That is the number of times he has explicitly stated that a deal was imminent or asserted that Iran was desperate to cut one in social media posts, public appearances, and phone conversations with the media.
That doesn’t seem to be any more true now than it was on April 7. However, Trump continues to repeat it, either because he believes he can will it into being or because he is deluded and wants to calm the financial markets, as per a report by CNN. However, it is obviously no longer a claim that should be taken seriously.
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Less than a month into the war, Trump was telling reporters about “major points of agreement, I would say – almost all points of agreement” in relation to purported peace negotiations. (In actuality, Iran rejected talks.)
He began trotting out what has become a standard theme by the next day: that Iran was desperate to reach an agreement. Trump continued, “I think we’re going to end it.” “I can’t be certain.”
When asked if he anticipated reaching an agreement within the next week during a press conference on Air Force One on March 29, Trump said, “I do see a deal in Iran, yeah.”
At this moment, Trump’s forecasts became very compelling. He stated on April 6 that they were “very close to a deal” before a setback.
The ceasefire, which was initially intended to last two weeks while the two parties worked out a deal, was proclaimed by him the following day. A week later, on April 15, he told Fox Business, “I think it’s close to over; I view it as very close to over.” He continued, “We’ll see what happens.” “I believe they are desperate to reach an agreement.”
Over the next few days, Trump essentially declared it to be over. On April 16, he told reporters, “It looks very good that we’re going to make a deal with Iran, and it’s going to be a good deal.”
In three different appearances by April 17, he asserted that Iran had “agreed to everything,” that “I think we will get a deal in the next day or two,” and that “I don’t think there’s too many significant differences.”
Additionally, he said that “it will all happen, relatively quickly” in a post on Truth Social on April 20. On April 30, Iran was still “dying to make a deal”, even though that didn’t work out. On May 1, he bet reporters, “When the war ends, which shouldn’t be too long…”
Before declaring on May 18 that he was postponing military attacks for “two or three days” at the request of Middle Eastern nations “because they think that they are getting very close to making a deal,” Trump withheld his predictions for a while.
Even Trump appeared to realise at this moment how frequently these forecasts had failed. Trump stated, “But this is a little bit different. We’ve had periods of time where we had – we thought we were pretty much getting close to making a deal, and it didn’t work out.”
It was the same. However, he was unfazed.
At a congressional picnic on May 19, Trump declared, “We’re going to end that war very quickly.”
As he had on April 17, he was making the rounds by May 23. He claimed that a deal was “getting a lot closer” for the administration. The agreement was “largely negotiated, subject to finalisation,” according to him. Additionally, he stated that the “final aspects” of the agreement were being considered and that it would be disclosed “shortly.”
In an interview with his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, on May 28, he stated that the agreement was “close to a very good deal.”
Additionally, he promised on Sunday that they were “very close to having a deal,” but that an altercation between Iran and Israel was endangering it. He told Axios, “We are very close to a final deal with Iran.” “It will be a good deal. I don’t want the current situation to cause it to explode.
Trump informed Axios that a deal was on the horizon for at least the third time. Then, on Monday, Trump reiterated his prediction of a “total victory” within the next two weeks during a tele-rally for war hawk Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
“They want to make a very good deal; we’re negotiating now,” Trump declared. “They’re willing to give us everything,” he continued.
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