Asked when he expected Iran to return to the negotiating table, President Trump said, “There’s no timetable.”
Published August 26, 2026
US President Donald Trump told Al Jazeera there is “no timetable” for when Iran will return to the negotiating table to end the conflict that the US started months ago.
“I don’t have a timetable, I don’t have anything. I’m in no hurry. I don’t have a timetable at all,” Trump told Al Jazeera’s Tanya Nowry on Wednesday when asked how much time he would give to return to talks with Iran.
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“We have a tremendous victory,” President Trump said. “They have massive inflation, their economy is collapsing, they treat their people very badly, they kill so many protesters. I don’t have a timetable. Whatever it takes.”
This Friday marks six months since the US war against Iran began.
The comments differ from previous statements by the US president. After starting the war on February 28, President Trump repeatedly downplayed how long the conflict would last, at one point saying it would be over in “four to six weeks.”
In June, the United States and Iran signed a 60-day memorandum of understanding that was supposed to address issues such as the Strait of Hormuz passage, lift sanctions against Iran and begin talks on how to deal with Iran’s nuclear program. That contract expired earlier this month.
On Monday, the United States announced increased sanctions on Iran and 60 companies from countries doing business with Iran during what officials called “Economic D-Day” and the administration dubbed “Operation Economic Purge.”

