President Trump on Thursday vehemently denied reports he is “desperate” to end the war against Iran, insisting he has unfinished business as he extends the timeframe for talks. 

“I’m the opposite of desperate. I don’t care,” he said in his cabinet meeting.

Peace negotiations between Washington and Tehran are ongoing, with intermediary countries acting as messengers as the war enters its fourth week. 

With the talks “going very well,” Trump extended his original five-day deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz by another five days to Monday, April 6th, to give negotiators more time. The previous deadline was Friday. 

“Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well,” the president announced in a post on Truth Social.

Trump was visibly annoyed by a Wall Street Journal article that reported he wants a speedy end to the conflict, blasting it as “fake news.”

He said if he were desperate, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth would be the first to know because he would order US military out of the region.

“I read a story today that I’m desperate to make a deal. I’m not. If I was desperate, he’d be the first to know. Pete, let’s get the hell out of there,” Trump said. 

But, the president pointed out, what he really wants to do is to finish the job.

“We have other targets we want to hit before we leave,” he noted.

The president was chatty during Thursday’s cabinet meeting, giving real-time updates on the situation with Iran, blasting NATO for its lack of loyalty, and pointing to work he’s done domestically to make America safer.

He also revealed the answer to a mystery that has plagued Washington the past two days — what was that gift he received from Iran.

It was 10 “big boats” of oil in a show of goodwill from Tehran. 

“They said, ‘To show you the fact that we’re real and solid and we’re there, we’re going to let you have eight boats of oil — eight boats, eight big boats of oil.’ … and I didn’t think much about it,” Trump said at his cabinet meeting.

“And I said, ‘Well, I guess we’re dealing with the right people.’ And actually, they then apologized for something they said,” the president continued. “And they said, ‘We’re going to send two more boats,’ and it ended up being 10 boats.”

Trump was so happy with the gift that he gave Iran extra days to open the strait. 

“They asked for seven. And I said, I’m going to give you 10, because they gave me ships,” he told Fox News of his deadline extension.

The Strait of Hormuz — a key waterway to transport oil and cargo to and from the Middle East — remains at issue. Tehran wants to keep control of the valuable real estate that is vital to the global energy supply, while Trump wants to ensure Iran can no longer threaten commerce.  

Wiping out “99%” of Iran’s military threat in the strait wasn’t good enough because the remaining 1% is still a risk to ships in the region, Trump insisted. 

“Let’s say we do a great job: say we got 99% — 1% is unacceptable. Because 1% is a missile tearing a hole in the hull of a ship,” he said.

The strait — just 24 miles wide at its narrowest point —  remains a key issue in the peace negotiations but US negotiators sounded a hopeful note.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is leading the talks, said the US team has presented Tehran with a 15-point action plan for peace and there are “strong signs” a deal is a “possibility.”

It was sent through Pakistan, which is acting as the mediator. He declined to be more specific.

“These are sensitive diplomatic discussions, and you have directed us to maintain confidentiality on the specific terms and not negotiate through the news media as others do,” Witkoff noted.

He said that he and his co-negotiator Jared Kushner are pushing Iran to understand “that this is the inflection point, with no good alternatives for them other than more death and destruction.”

“We have strong signs that this is a possibility, and if the deal happens, it will be great for the country of Iran,” he noted.