Trump keeps forecasting an Iran deal — why the White House still thinks it can happen

By Fox News · Fox News

President Donald Trump is continuing to project confidence that a final nuclear agreement with Iran remains within reach despite months of slow-moving diplomacy, unresolved disputes over uranium enrichment and a ceasefire that appeared at risk of unraveling over the weekend. "We're in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal," Trump told reporters after attending the third game of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, adding that it would come in "two or three days." Trump has suggested dozens of times over the past two months that a deal is just around the corner, yet little public evidence has emerged that the sides have bridged the core disputes that have complicated negotiations. Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, the president has said a deal was close at least 38 times, according to a CNN count. Despite months of predictions that a deal was imminent, negotiations remain publicly deadlocked over uranium enrichment, sanctions relief and Iran's growing stockpile of enriched uranium. Yet administration officials and outside analysts say a combination of economic pressure on Iran, a fragile but surviving ceasefire and the high costs of renewed conflict may explain why Trump continues to believe an agreement is achievable. TRUMP, NETANYAHU TO MEET AT WHITE HOUSE IN HIGH-STAKES TALKS ON IRAN, GAZA PLAN In May alone, Trump said a deal as "largely negotiated," later suggested he was making a "final determination" and now says an agreement could arrive within days. Former National Security Council official Michael Singh said Trump's confidence likely reflects both the president's negotiating style and the reality that neither Washington nor Iran appears eager to abandon diplomacy despite recent military exchanges. "Projecting optimism is part of President Trump's MO," Singh told Fox News Digital, adding that despite recent military exchanges, "we don't see either side really pursuing any alternative with any kind of determination. In announcing t…