President Donald Trump said the conflict between the United States and Iran is approaching its conclusion, pointing to easing hostilities under a two-week ceasefire while signaling that further action remains possible.

“I think it’s close to over, yeah. I view it as very close to being over,” Trump told FOX Business anchor Maria Bartiromo in an interview that will air on “Mornings with Maria” on Wednesday.

His remarks come as diplomatic efforts are expected to resume, with U.S. and Iranian representatives reportedly planning to return to negotiations on Thursday after discussions over the weekend in Pakistan failed to produce an agreement.

At the same time, the administration has continued to apply pressure. On Monday, Trump ordered a naval blockade targeting all Iranian ports, escalating tensions even after Washington halted its bombing campaign against Iran last week.

While expressing optimism about the war winding down, Trump made clear that U.S. operations are not yet complete.

“If I pulled up stakes right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country. And we’re not finished,” he said. “We’ll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal very badly.”

Vice President JD Vance, along with senior White House officials, met with Iranian counterparts in Pakistan over the weekend to address Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and enrichment activity.

Although the talks ended without a breakthrough, Vance said Monday “a lot of progress” was made and emphasized that the next steps depend on Iran’s decisions.

“The ball is very much in their court,” Vance told “Special Report.” “You ask what happens next, I think the Iranians are going to determine what happens next.”

The war began on Feb. 28, when the United States and Israel carried out coordinated strikes on Iranian targets, an operation that resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dealt a severe blow to the Islamic regime.

Trump has repeatedly pointed to the damage inflicted on Iran’s leadership and military infrastructure, frequently stating that U.S. forces have “decimated” Tehran’s capabilities.

The fighting has come at a heavy cost, with thirteen American service members killed, along with thousands of casualties reported across the Middle East.

Speaking about his decision to enter the conflict, Trump defended the move as necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

“I had to divert because if I didn’t do that, right now, you’d have Iran with a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “And if they had a nuclear weapon, you’d be calling everybody over there ‘sir,’ and you don’t want to do that.”