U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (August 4) that Iran had reached out requesting talks, but warned that the country would face severe consequences and "get hit very hard" if negotiations failed.

Trump made the comments in an interview on the Fox News @ Night with Trace Gallagher show.

Qatar said on Tuesday that mediators were making progress in efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war, driving oil prices lower, although Tehran has denied Trump's assertion that talks are already under way.

The U.S. president's comments on Tuesday followed his weekend decision to cancel plans for what he described as "massive attacks" on Iran, extending a pattern in which he has threatened major military action before pulling back and pointing to diplomatic contacts.

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REFILE: Trump says Iran talks progressing, warns of 'very hard' action if needed

VIDEO SHOWS: SOUNDBITES FROM U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

RESENDING TO CLARIFY SPECIFIC FOX SHOW IN PARAGRAPH 2 OF THE STORY SECTION OF THE SCRIPT AS FOX News @ Night with Trace Gallagher

SHOWS: RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 4, 2026) (FOX NEWS CHANNEL’S FOX NEWS @ NIGHT WITH TRACE GALLAGHER - Mandatory on-air and on-screen credit to "Fox News Channel’s Fox News @ Night with Trace Gallagher” / No obstruction of Fox bug / No more than two minutes use allowed / No archive / No reuse / No resale)

1. U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, SPEAKING WITH FOX NEWS HOST, TRACE GALLAGHER, DURING INTERVIEW

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING (SOUNDBITE STARTS ON SHOT 1 AND CONTINUES OVER WIDE SHOT OF INTERVIEW):

GALLAGHER: "There was a threat. There was a man who was arrested, seemed to be heavily armed near the property here on Sunday. Is it - It's an ongoing concern, sir. Talk about that briefly if you can."

TRUMP: "Well, the only thing I get a little solace from is, they say, only consequential presidents. And I am definitely consequential. I mean, if you look at the economy, if you look at what's happening, Iran, as an example, will never have a nuclear weapon. They already can't, but it's going to be formal. The (Hormuz) Strait's going to be open very soon, or they're going to get hit very hard and then the Strait's are going to be open. We will go into a tremendous attack, the biggest since World War two."

3. WHITE FLASH

4. TRUMP WITH GALLAGHER DURING INTERVIEW

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING (SOUNDBITE STARTS ON SHOT 4 AND PARTIALLY OVERLAYS SHOT 6):

TRUMP: "And they (Iran) called me and said very politely, 'Please, can we talk? Can we talk?' They didn't want. And I said, yes, we can talk. Let's get it done. Finally. Let's get it done. This should have been done by other presidents for 50 years. You know, you keep hearing 47, but that's been for three years now. It's been over 50 years. Other presidents or other countries should have been able to do this. And I did something that I had to do because if they had a nuclear weapon, this whole world would be a different place."

GALLAGHER: "If they back out again are they done?"

TRUMP" "Well, if they back out again, they're going to get hit really hard. You know, they know that. They understand that."

6. VARIOUS OF TRUMP AND GALLAGHER DURING INTERVIEW

7. WHITE FLASH

8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING (SOUNDBITE PARTIALLY OVERLAYS SHOT 9):

"We hit them very, very hard. But the hard hit is yet to come, and hopefully we won't have to use it. I hope we won't have to. We're having very good discussions. They don't like to admit that, but, well, you know, it's a little bit disconcerting. You tell people like you, 'We're having wonderful discussions,' and then some guy will come out of Iran and say, 'We have not met. We have not.' It's just such a lie. All day long, you understand? It's just incredible."

9. TRUMP AND GALLAGHER DURING INTERVIEW