US President Donald Trump has said negotiations between Washington and Tehran have been paused for a week because of the funeral of former Iranian leader Ali Khamenei. In an interview with Axios on Saturday, Trump said the talks had been temporarily delayed while funeral ceremonies were taking place. “They’re all there right now. It’s one shot away. But we’re not going to do that, because then there would be nobody left to negotiate with,” Trump said, without elaborating on what he meant by “one shot away.” Trump also said he was surprised by television footage showing large crowds mourning Khamenei. “I thought people hated him. Maybe the crying was staged,” he said. The US president did not say when negotiations would resume or provide further details about the agenda for future talks between Washington and Tehran.
