Washington DC, May 1 -- US President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran are progressing behind closed doors and insisted that only a small circle inside his administration knows the true status of the talks.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday (local time), Trump said, "Nobody knows what the talks are, except myself and a couple of other people."

The president acknowledged uncertainty surrounding Iran's leadership structure, adding, "We have a problem because nobody knows for sure who the leaders are. It's a little bit of a problem."

Despite that, Trump maintained that Tehran wants an agreement "badly" and argued that US pressure tactics were severely damaging Iran's economy.

"Their economy is crashing. The bloc...