By Molly Claire Goddard
1:13pm PDT, May 23, 2025
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Donald Trump thinks nuclear talks with Iran are going great — but the country's leaders seem to have a different take.
During a press briefing on Thursday, May 22, White House Press Secretary
Karoline Leavitt claimed that the president feels optimistic about the negotiations. However, Iranian Foreign Minister
Abbas Araghchi later clarified that his country will not budge on a deal with the United States.
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Ahead of the Friday, May 23, talks in Rome, Karoline Leavitt expressed how Donald Trump thought the negotiations with Iran were "moving along in the right direction."
"As the president told me and he's told all of you, this deal with
Iran could end in two ways: It could end in a very positive diplomatic solution or it could end in a very negative situation for Iran. So that's why these talks are taking place," the media liaison explained.
The Republican leader also discussed Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu's "potential deal with Iran."
"The president has made it very clear to not just Prime Minister Netanyahu but also the world that he wants to see a deal with Iran struck if one can be struck," Leavitt said. "He does not want to have to take the latter option, the more severe and negative option. He wants to see a deal. The president is a dealmaker and believes strongly in diplomacy, and he made that clear to the Prime Minister but also to all of you and frankly, the rest of the world."
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Despite Donald Trump's optimism, sources claimed to
CNN that the negotiations seem unlikely to end in an agreement.
According to insiders, the problem stems from the United States' requirement that Tehran dismantles its uranium enrichment program.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took to X to share insight into what Iran needed to get a deal done with America: "Figuring out the path to a deal is not rocket science," he wrote. "Zero nuclear weapons = we DO have a deal. Zero enrichment = we do NOT have a deal."
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Donald Trump's Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff will host the discussion with an Iranian delegation on Friday, May 23. Top State Department official Michael Anton will also be present for the negotiations.
"We have one very, very clear red line, and that is enrichment. We cannot allow even 1% of an enrichment capability," Witkoff emphasized during an interview that aired on ABC's This Week.
