Trump says Iran wants to make a deal {again}

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U.S. President Donald Trump has said the country is “hopefully” toward the end of its nearly seven-month war with Iran, as fighting continues to escalate between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

“Well, hopefully we are toward the end of the war. They want to make a deal, we’ll see how that works out,” Trump told reporters in North Carolina on Wednesday evening.

The U.S. president also said he had spoken with Tehran “directly,” without providing further details. His comments come as the sprawling Middle East conflict, which started on Feb. 28, expands into Yemen, further disrupting energy exports and rattling oil markets.

The Houthis have ramped up attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia and launched a lightning ground offensive to exercise control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital oil choke point that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and to global markets.

Trump is planning to meet Gulf leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York next Tuesday to discuss next steps for the war with Iran, Axios reported Thursday.

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