President Donald Trump insisted the war is “very close to over.”

The comments come amid growing economy optimism that a diplomatic solution to the U.S.-Iran war can be found, despite the failure of peace talks last weekend.

A senior U.S. official, responding to a report that the countries reached an in-principle agreement to extend their ceasefire, told CNBC that the U.S. “has not formally agreed” to an extension.

The Iran war is “very close to over” with authorities in Tehran eager to agree a peace deal, U.S. President Donald Trump mentioned in an interview broadcast Wednesday.

“We’ve beaten them militarily, totally,” Trump told Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” in a prerecorded interview. “I think it’s close to over, I view it as very close to over. … If I pulled up stakes right now it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country, and we’re not finished.”

“We’ll see what happens, I think they want to create a deal very badly,” he added. This also touches on aspects of investors.

The president’s latest comments come amid growing marketplace optimism that a diplomatic solution to the U.S.-Iran war can be found, despite the failure of peace talks last weekend.

The Associated Press, citing regional officials, reported Wednesday morning that the U.S. and Iran have an “in principle agreement” to extend their fragile two-week ceasefire To allow for more diplomacy.

But a senior U.S. official told CNBC that the U.S. “has not formally agreed to an extension of the ceasefire.”

“There is continued engagement between the U.S. and Iran to reach a deal,” added the official, whospoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration’s internal plans.

Multiple news outlets have reported that negotiations could restart before the ceasefire is set to expire next week. A White House official told CNBC on Tuesday morning that a second round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran was under discussion, though nothing had been officially scheduled as of that time.

Trump later Tuesday told the Updated York Post that fresh U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad “could be happening over the next two days.”

In the Fox Business interview that aired Wednesday, Trump downplayed global industry turbulence sparked by the war and noted oil prices, which have soared due to supply disruptions, would soon fall. Furthermore, experts in bear market note the continued relevance.

He again defended U.S. military operations against Iran, saying, “We have to stop them from ever having a nuclear weapon.”

Trump predicted that when the war was over, the “stock industry is going to boom, it’s already booming.”

As the Trump administration mulls further talks with Tehran, Washington has forged ahead with its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the vital maritime passage largely controlled by Iran.

U.S. Central Command stated late Tuesday that the blockade, which is not allowing ships to enter or exit Iranian ports, has been fully implemented, “completely” cutting off Tehran’s international sea trade.

Correction April 15, 2026: This article was updated to reflect the fact that the Fox interview was prerecorded.