Trump: We planned talks with Iran

US President Donald Trump answered questions from the press with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he hosted at the White House.

Iran negotiations

President Trump made statements regarding the planned talks with Iran, saying, "We planned talks with Iran and they want to talk. They have been dealt a big blow ."

Asked if there were plans for another attack on Iran, Trump said, "I hope we don't have to do that."

Trump pointed out that Iran was eager for talks after the tensions, saying, "They want to meet. They want to do something. (Iran) they are different. They are very different than they were two weeks ago."

"I would like to lift sanctions on Iran at the right time"

Trump said they lifted sanctions on Syria at the request of regional countries and Netanyahu, and that they "wanted to give a chance" to the Damascus administration.

Stating that he was "very impressed" by Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa, Trump said Sharaa "comes from a tough past and geography."

Trump said he also wants to "lift sanctions on Iran when the time is right" and added, "I want to give them a chance to rebuild because I want to see Iran rebuild itself peacefully. They're not saying 'Death to the United States, death to Israel' anymore. They used to be the bully in the Middle East, not anymore."

Netanyahu, on the other hand, said that he thought there were new opportunities in Syria regarding stability, security and peace.

Netanyahu also said he nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize and delivered his nomination letter to Trump.

Trump, meanwhile, said the following about sending weapons to Ukraine: "We will send more weapons. We have to send them, they need to be able to defend themselves. They are under very heavy attack."

Tariff postponement period extended

Asked whether the tariff letters were final, Trump signaled that they could negotiate the rates set forth in the letters.

Stating that these were more or less the final offers, Trump said, "But if they come up with a different offer and I like it, we will do it."

When asked whether the August 1st date for the tariff extension was definite, Trump said, "I would say definite, but it's not 100 percent definite. If they call and say, 'We'd like to take a different path,' we'd be open to that."

"We are close to an agreement with India"

"We talked to everybody. I said, 'We'll make some deals, but mostly we'll send a letter,'" Trump said when asked about the failure to make 90 deals during the 90-day tariff reprieve.

Reminding that they had made agreements with England and China , Trump announced that they were close to an agreement with India as well.

Explaining that they are also talking with other countries, Trump said, "We don't think we can make a deal, so we're just sending them a letter."

Trump pointed out that they could make some adjustments to the tariff rates they announced in letters they sent to various countries, arguing that these rates were actually much lower than they should be.

Stating that they may want more tariffs , Trump said, "For the sake of the relationships we have established with many good countries, we do as I do."

Trump shared tariff letters containing customs duty rates for 14 countries, including Tunisia, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Japan, South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, Serbia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, on his social media account on Monday.