US president dismisses Iran talks collapse as “boring”

US President Donald Trump stated Monday he “couldn’t care less” if negotiations with Iran have permanently stalled, calling the process “very boring,” Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet reports.

Speaking to CNBC, Trump said he was unconcerned by Iran’s announcement that it would halt all communications with the US and fully block the Strait of Hormuz, following Israel’s military operations in Lebanon. “If they’re over, they’re over,” he said. “If they’re not, I think they took too long. Frankly, I thought they were getting very boring.”

The president also dismissed rising oil prices, which surged Monday after Iran’s threats to close the critical Hormuz shipping lane. “I think the oil price is going to drop like a rock in the very near future, very soon,” he told CNBC.

Iran’s state-run Tasnim news agency reported Monday that Tehran would cease all messaging with Washington and shut the Strait of Hormuz, citing repeated violations of the ceasefire. The statement added that Iran would also block passage through the Bab al-Mandab Strait—a key chokepoint linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden—unless Israel withdraws from occupied areas in Lebanon and halts all attacks in Lebanon and Gaza.

When asked about the situation in Lebanon, Trump said he would “ask” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “what’s going on.”