Trump tells CNBC: 'I don't care' if Iran talks collapse, calls them 'very boring'

President Donald Trump on Monday shrugged off the possible collapse of peace negotiations with Iran, telling CNBC, "I don't care if they're over, honestly."

"I really don't care. I couldn't care less," Trump told CNBC's Eamon Javers in a phone interview midday Monday, saying he thought the protracted discussions "started to get very boring."

Key Points

• President Donald Trump told CNBC's Eamon Javers, "I don't care" if peace negotiations with Iran are over.
• Trump told CNBC he was "going to ask" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "what's going on with Lebanon."
• Trump said he wasn't worried about oil prices, which spiked following a report that Iran will "completely block" the Strait of Hormuz in addition to halting negotiations with the U.S.

Iran Negotiations and Strait of Hormuz

Trump had been asked about the prospect of Iran ending talks with the U.S. in light of reporting earlier Monday that Iranian negotiators would take that step — and also move to "completely block" the Strait of Hormuz — due to Israel's military operations in Lebanon against the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah.

Asked if the Iranians told him that they are not going to negotiate further, Trump said, "No, they haven't."

"If they're over, they're over ... frankly, I thought they started to get very boring." — President Donald Trump

Israel, Lebanon, and Hezbollah

Trump said he was "going to ask" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "what's going on with Lebanon."

Trump said in a Truth Social post Monday afternoon that he "had a very productive call" with Netanyahu. "There will be no Troops going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back," Trump wrote.

He said in the same post that he spoke with Hezbollah "through highly placed Representatives," and "they agreed that all shooting will stop — That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel."

In another post, Trump wrote, "Talks are continuing, at a rapid pace, with the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Netanyahu, in an X post later Monday, said he told Trump that "if Hezbollah does not cease attacking our cities and citizens—Israel will attack terror targets in Beirut."

"This stance of ours remains unchanged. In parallel, the IDF will continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon," Netanyahu wrote.

Oil Prices and Economic Impact

In his call with CNBC, Trump said he wasn't worried about oil prices, which had spiked after Iranian state news outlet Tasnim reported earlier Monday that Tehran was halting negotiations and clamping down on the Hormuz Strait.

"I think the oil will be dropping like a rock in the very near, you know, the very near distance," Trump said.

But he also insisted that Americans who understand the importance of halting Iran's nuclear ambitions will not mind higher gas prices as a result of the war.

"Once you explain that this is all about Iran having a nuclear weapon, people are willing to pay a little bit more," he said.

Trump asserted that prices at the pump will drop "very quickly." But he also repeatedly signaled he was in no hurry to restart the stalled negotiations with Iran.

"If they're over, they're over. If they're not, you know, I think they took too much time. Frankly, I thought they started to get very boring," Trump told CNBC.

U.S.-Iran Ceasefire and NATO

Asked if he believed it was time to formally end the U.S.-Iran ceasefire that is nominally still in place, Trump said, "Let's say I knew exactly what you're asking ... and I sort of do. Why would I tell you?"

He also said that the U.S.' NATO allies "should come in and help us out" because they rely on the oil that flows through the Hormuz Strait more than the U.S. does.

"We don't need it, we have a lot of oil," he said.

When asked if he has reached out to NATO to participate in reopening the strait, Trump did not provide a direct answer.