President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday after arriving in North Carolina that Iran is seeking an agreement to end the current conflict. He stated that the U.S. is "hopefully toward the end of the war" and confirmed he has heard from Iranian officials directly, though he noted the U.S. will see how the process works out.

The remarks follow a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to Beijing on Sept. 16 to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. During those talks, Araghchi stated that Iran is not interested in continuing the conflict with the U.S., and China urged both nations to return to the Islamabad memorandum of understanding to rebuild negotiation mechanisms.