Trump lines up Putin and Xi talks with denuclearization on the table

Donald Trump says he's lining up sit-downs with two of America's biggest adversaries. The US president told reporters in Florida, before flying back to Washington, that talks are coming with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping — and denuclearization sits at the top of the list.

The announcement came as a broad sketch, not a detailed plan. Trump said the conversations would cover plenty of ground. But no dates, venues or agendas were offered, and it's unclear whether the Putin and Xi meetings would happen together or separately.

Iran loomed over the whole exchange. Trump linked the diplomacy to his push to wrap up the conflict, saying the US is trying to end the war there. He also confirmed he won't target Iran's power plants and bridges, reasoning that rebuilding them would be a nightmare.

Instead, he pointed to a pressure campaign he calls Operation Iron Gate, aimed at choking off Iran's overland supply routes. Trump described a dual squeeze — nothing getting in by land, and a naval blockade cutting off the sea. He didn't explain how the US would sever Iran's inland corridors.

The president doubled down on his broader claim that Washington rescued the Middle East and Israel by hitting Iran and wiping out its nuclear program, arguing a nuclear-armed Iran would have threatened countries far beyond the region. He also defended Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth against impeachment calls, crediting him with a key role in the Iran operation and asking why former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wasn't targeted when he was, in Trump's words, missing in action for two weeks.

It wasn't all geopolitics on the tarmac. Trump walked back his suggestion that UFC boss Dana White could be White House press secretary, saying he was only kidding, and praised Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang as an honorable guy — adding he'd happily bring Huang along on an upcoming Asia trip despite reports about his personal life.