US President Donald Trump insisted that Iran has been negotiating with his administration and “badly” wants a deal, hours after his press secretary said the US is “very close” to achieving its objectives in the bombing campaign.

The comments come amid ongoing reports on talks between the US and Iran nearly four weeks into the US-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic. The US formulated a 15-point proposal to halt the conflict, which elicited a cold response from Tehran. In addition, Iran’s leaders are said to demand that any ceasefire include an end to fighting between Israel and the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy.

Against that backdrop, Israel is continuing its attacks on the regime, reportedly worried that Trump could end the war abruptly. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the campaign was “continuing at full force,” as was the fight against Hezbollah.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that American operations were running ahead of the four-to-six-week timeline the US had set for the war. That window of time begins on Saturday.

“From the outset,” Leavitt said, Trump and the Pentagon “estimated it would take approximately four to six weeks to achieve this critical mission.”

“Twenty-five days in, the greatest military the world has ever known is ahead of schedule and performing exceptionally,” she said. “We are very close to meeting the core objectives of Operation Epic Fury, and this military mission continues unabated.”

Later in the day, Trump said Iranian officials were not admitting that they have been negotiating with the US because they are scared of being killed.

“They want to make a deal so badly, but they’re afraid to say it, because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people. They’re also afraid they’ll be killed by us,” Trump said at a Republican fundraising event.

The comments came as US officials cited by the Wall Street Journal said the US and Israel have temporarily removed Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf from a hit list of top Iranian officials.

Araghchi and Qalibaf were reportedly taken off the list for four to five days in a bid to jumpstart the talks with Iran, though the US officials cited by the Journal said the talks had little chance of success.

Iran has reacted coldly to the 15-point US ceasefire plan that would reportedly require Iran to dismantle its nuclear program, limit its ballistic missiles and stop supporting terrorist proxies.

In addition, six regional sources familiar with Iran’s position, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the Islamic Republic had told intermediaries as early as mid-March that any ceasefire agreement with the US and Israel must also include a halt to Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah.

Iran’s official Press TV also cited an Iranian official saying Tehran wants any deal with the United States to secure an end to the war on both Iran and “resistance groups” in the region, referring to the terror groups the regime supports.

Israel fears Trump will end war abruptly

Israel is working to urgently hit as many high-priority targets in Iran as it can due to concerns that Trump could end the war suddenly, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing two senior Israeli officials and two people briefed on the matter.

According to the report, Netanyahu on Tuesday instructed the military to take out as much of Iran’s arms industry as possible in the coming 48 hours.

Netanyahu and Israel’s security chiefs reportedly do not believe that Trump’s 15-point plan would ensure that the Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile threat is removed.

Netanyahu said during a video meeting with local government heads from the northern border area that the campaign against Iran is “continuing at full force, despite what is reported in the media.”

Turning to Israel’s fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon, he asserted that the threat of an invasion of northern Israel by the terror group “no longer exists,” adding that Israel is creating an expanded buffer zone in Lebanon to push back threats from Hezbollah’s anti-tank missiles.

Now, he said, the focus is on “dismantling Hezbollah.”

“We are determined to do everything to fundamentally change the situation in Lebanon,” he promised.

Netanyahu also stressed that Israel’s commitment to protecting the Druze in Syria “remains in force.”

Israel has pushed ground troops deeper into Lebanon and launched heavy airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds there after the terror group renewed its rocket attacks on Israel on March 2 amid the Iran war.

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