ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump said that he is "less confident" compared to "a couple of months ago" about reaching a nuclear deal with Iran.

“They seem to be delaying, and I think that’s a shame, but I’m less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago.

"Something happened to them, but I am much less confident of a deal being made," Trump told the New York Post in an interview published on Wednesday.

Asked if he believed he could persuade Iran to shut down its nuclear program, the US president stated: “I don’t know."

Stressing that he thought so in the past, he highlighted that he is losing confidence in this regard.

Whether there is a deal or not, Iran is "not going to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump noted.

“But it would be nicer to do it without warfare, without people dying, it’s so much nicer to do it. But I don’t think I see the same level of enthusiasm for them to make a deal.

"I think they would make a mistake, but we’ll see. I guess time will tell," he added.

When asked whether China had played a role in Tehran’s refusal to engage with US efforts, Trump said he did not believe China was behind the decision, stating that "maybe" Tehran does not aspire to a deal.

Iran and the US resumed nuclear diplomacy in April, with Oman acting as a mediator. Since then, they have held five rounds in Muscat and Rome.

- Door open for reconciliation with Elon Musk

Expressing his openness to mending ties with Tesla chief Elon Musk, though saying that rekindling their relationship is not a major concern for him right now, Trump said he does not "blame" the billionaire for falling out but admitted that he is “a little disappointed.”

“I have no hard feelings,” the US president stated, adding: “I was really surprised that that happened. He went after a bill that’s phenomenal. …He just — I think he feels very badly that he said that, actually.”

“I was disappointed in him, but, you know, it is what it is," Trump added.

The public dispute between Trump and Musk erupted last week after the president blasted the billionaire for opposing a Republican policy measure due to its projected impact on the deficit.

The clash quickly escalated, sparking fallout in Congress and affecting Tesla’s stock.

Musk said on Wednesday that he regretted some of his social media posts he made about Trump last week, following his feud with the US president.

Los Angeles immigration raid protests

Trump also called for a minimum one-year jail sentence for Los Angeles rioters who burned American flags, suggesting also that California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom mishandled the chaos so severely that he could “in theory” face criminal charges.

When asked if he still supported the idea of arresting Newsom for obstructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Los Angeles, he criticized the governor, saying: “Well, he’s not doing a good job.”

Trump added that “in theory” Newsom could face charges, calling the situation “almost like a dissipation of duty."

"Nobody’s ever seen anything like that," he further stated.

Protests erupted in Los Angeles on Friday after ICE agents raided local businesses and detained hundreds of people suspected of living in the US illegally. The Trump administration has continued to carry out the raids in defiance of the community's opposition.

Critics of the raids say ICE is going after law-abiding undocumented immigrants, a vital part of the community and the local economy, rather than the criminals that Trump pledged to deport while campaigning last year to return to the White House.