Trump Claims Middle East Peace Deal in 'Final Stages'; CNN Counts 37th Such Prediction

(Central News Agency, Washington, 8th – Combined Foreign Reports) U.S. President Donald Trump said today that he is in the 'final stages' of reaching a Middle East peace agreement. According to a count by CNN, this is the 37th time he has claimed a deal is imminent since the war began.

Trump told reporters, 'We are in the final stages of a very, very good deal.'

When asked by the Associated Press whether it would take days or weeks, Trump replied, 'Two to three days.'

CNN reported that more than two months have passed since Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran, at which time he said both sides were close to an agreement.

On April 7, Trump stated on social media that things were 'going very well' but needed two weeks to 'get the deal done and completed.' He concluded by saying, 'It is an honor to bring this long-standing problem close to a solution.'

Of course, the problem was not solved. Nevertheless, Trump continued to hint frequently over the following two months that a deal was imminent.

According to CNN's tally, including the pre-ceasefire period, Trump has claimed at least 37 times that a deal was near or that Iran desperately wanted an agreement. These claims were made through social media posts, public appearances, and phone calls with the media.

There is no indication that the situation today is any more real than it was on April 7, but Trump continues to make the claim. CNN analyzes that this could be due to delusion, an attempt to calm financial markets, or a belief that he can will the deal into existence.

However, people have clearly stopped taking such statements seriously.

It all began on March 23, less than a month after the US-Iran war started. Trump spoke to reporters outside Air Force One about rumored peace talks, claiming there was 'major agreement, I would say almost all agreement.'

The next day, he began using what would become a recurring refrain: that Iran desperately wanted a deal.

Trump added, 'I think we can end all of this. I can't tell you exactly.'

By March 25, Trump claimed Iran 'very much wants a deal'; at a cabinet meeting on March 26, he said Iran was 'begging for a deal.'

On March 29, during an informal conversation with reporters on Air Force One, when asked if he foresaw a deal the following week, he replied, 'Yes, I do see the possibility of a deal with Iran.'

At this point, Trump's predictions became more insistent. On April 6, he said they had been 'very close to a deal' before encountering a setback.

The next day, he announced a ceasefire, which was expected to last two weeks while both sides finalized an agreement.

A week later, on April 15, he told Fox Business, 'I think it's almost over. I think it's very close to being over.'

He added, 'We'll see... I think they very much want a deal.'

In the following days, Trump almost guaranteed everything was finished.

On April 16, he told reporters, 'We will have a deal with Iran. It looks very good, and it will be a good deal.'

On April 17, in three separate appearances, he claimed Iran had 'agreed to everything,' 'I think we can have a deal in the next day or two,' and 'I don't think there are many major differences.'

On April 20, in a post on Truth Social, he predicted, 'It will all happen, and relatively quickly!'

Although it didn't happen, Iran was still 'eager for a deal' on April 30.

On May 1, Trump bet reporters that 'when the war ends, it shouldn't be too long...'

Trump held back his predictions for a while, then on May 18 announced he would delay a military strike by '2 or 3 days' at the request of Middle Eastern countries 'because they think they are very close to a deal.'

By this point, even Trump seemed to acknowledge how often his predictions had been wrong.

Trump said, 'There was a time when we thought we were very close to a deal, but it didn't work out.' He then added, 'But this time is a little different.' (Edited by Li Peishan) 1150609