President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that a nuclear deal with Iran could be finalized within days, offering some of his most optimistic public remarks yet on the state of negotiations — even as the House of Representatives delivered a rare bipartisan rebuke of the conflict later that same day by passing a war powers resolution directing him to end hostilities he never sought congressional approval for.
Speaking to reporters during a signing ceremony at the White House on June 3, 2026, Trump said that talks with Iran had been progressing better than expected. “The negotiation itself has gone very well, actually very well,” Trump said. “I mean, if it happens, and it might not happen, who knows, but if it happens, it could happen like over the weekend.”
The remarks came against a complicated backdrop. The United States and Iran have been engaged in a running conflict since February 28, 2026, when U.S. and Israeli forces launched large-scale airstrikes on Iran, triggering what has become an ongoing military confrontation. Trump has attempted to characterize the conflict at various points as a limited action rather than a full-scale war, but the fighting has persisted for more than 90 days without a formal congressional authorization.
Amid the ongoing exchanges of fire, Trump expressed confidence that a deal remained within reach, describing Iran’s leadership as having come a long way in the negotiations. He indicated that a signed agreement would, among other things, prohibit Iran from developing, acquiring, or otherwise obtaining a nuclear weapon. “They will have agreed to: we will not have a nuclear weapon or bomb, we will not develop one, we will not buy one,” Trump said of the deal’s framework. He added that a key provision would also see the Strait of Hormuz reopened immediately upon signing.
Trump also addressed ongoing questions about whether Iran could be trusted to follow through, acknowledging that the situation remained volatile. “Anything can happen, you know, when you’re dealing with Iran,” he said, noting that the region is “probably the most volatile part of the world.” Nevertheless, he drew a sharp contrast between the emerging agreement and the 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiated under President Barack Obama, which he has long criticized. “This is no path to a nuclear weapon. That was an absolute path to a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
The backdrop to Trump’s optimism was a fragile and frequently violated ceasefire. Iran struck Kuwait’s main airport Wednesday, killing at least one person and wounding dozens, in what officials described as the latest in a series of back-and-forth attacks testing the ceasefire’s durability. Trump addressed the Kuwait incident directly, framing Iran’s action as a response to prior U.S. strikes. “We hit them pretty hard the night before,” he said, adding that the Iranian response was limited and quickly contained. “We nipped it in the bud as we do.”
The fragility of the situation has long been apparent. Iran’s negotiating team had previously threatened to suspend peace talks with the U.S. over what it described as violations of the ceasefire “on all fronts,” citing Israel’s ongoing war with Hezbollah in Lebanon as one of several grievances. That diplomatic turbulence has made Trump’s optimistic weekend timeline all the more striking.
Hours after Trump spoke, the House acted. A bipartisan majority in the Republican-led House voted to end the war with Iran, passing a war powers resolution 215 to 208, with four Republicans joining Democrats — the clearest rebuke yet of Trump’s handling of the conflict. The resolution had originally been scheduled for a vote two weeks earlier, but Republican leaders sent members home early for recess when it appeared the largely Democratic-backed measure had enough Republican votes for passage.
Now more than 90 days into the conflict, some Republicans have expressed frustration that the war does not appear to have a clear end in sight, casting doubt on a fragile ceasefire. The vote marked the first time such a measure had cleared the chamber since the conflict began. The 215-208 vote was the first time such a measure had cleared the House or the Senate on a final vote since the start of the conflict more than three months ago.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who voted for the resolution, said Congress had “sent an unmistakable message on behalf of the overwhelming majority of Americans who have opposed this war since it began.” Republican leaders, however, argued the vote was counterproductive. House Republican leadership had objected that passing the resolution would “weaken the president’s hand” in the ongoing negotiations with Iran.
The resolution’s path forward remains uncertain. While the measure is unlikely to become law — Democrats have been unable to pass a war powers resolution in the Senate, and even if they could, it would likely be vetoed — it represents a stark rebuke of Trump’s decision to join Israel in attacking Iran on February 28. The measure, known as a concurrent resolution, would need to be approved by both chambers, and while it would not go to the president to be signed, its legal force remains a matter of debate.
Trump, for his part, showed no indication of changing course. Speaking at the White House earlier in the day, he said he was proud of the decision to strike Iran and maintained that it had been necessary to prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon. He acknowledged the toll the conflict had taken, noting that even with a military action ongoing, the stock market had reached record highs — a point he cited as evidence that the broader strategy was working.
Whether a deal materializes over the coming weekend or not, the political and military pressure is mounting from multiple directions. Trump heads into what could be a pivotal few days in the conflict with one chamber of Congress formally calling for an end to the fighting, Iran’s ceasefire compliance remaining inconsistent, and the president himself suggesting that a resolution may be closer than the situation on the ground would indicate.