DUBAI/WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the war he started with Israel over Iran is “close to being over”, even as 10,000 additional US troops have moved into West Asia, and Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir arrived in Tehran with a mediation team to try to defuse the conflict again. The US is sending additional troops before the end of April as Washington tries to increase pressure on Tehran, The Washington Post reported, citing current and former US officials. These include forces aboard the USS George HW Bush and the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group. It was previously announced that about 50,000 troops were involved in the operation in the war on Iran.The preparations come amid efforts to extend the two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Munir, who mediated the previous round of talks, was in Iran “to narrow the gap” between the two sides. “I think you’re going to see an amazing scene over the next two days,” Trump told ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl, according to a reporter’s post on Twitter. He said he did not think it would be necessary to extend the ceasefire. “I think it’s close to being over, yes. I mean I think it’s very close,” Trump said in an interview conducted Tuesday on Fox Business Network and broadcast Wednesday. “We’ll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal very badly.””
