US President Donald Trump has said that “very friendly negotiations” are taking place regarding the conflict with Iran, as both sides refrained from exchanging strikes for a third consecutive day. He expressed optimism about ending the war, telling reporters aboard Air Force One: “I think there’s a good chance that something could happen.”

However, Trump warned that Washington would “go back to doing what we were doing” before the pause if the latest negotiations fail. Tehran has denied that any direct negotiations are taking place.

Trump said he decided to pause US strikes on Friday because mediating countries asked him to give talks another chance. Iran has also halted its attacks. The pause follows nearly two weeks of daily US strikes and tit-for-tat attacks that effectively unraveled a ceasefire reached in June.

The US military had said its strikes aimed to “degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” a key global oil route. Oil prices fell more than 9% to $87.59 a barrel on hopes of de-escalation.

Trump dismissed reports of low ammunition stockpiles, claiming the US has “a lot of ammunition.” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly stated the military “has more than enough munitions, ammo, and stockpiles to serve all of President Trump’s strategic goals.” The war began on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk