President Donald Trump has now reportedly announced that his administration will hold “top-level” discussions with Iranian officials this Saturday, aiming to negotiate a new nuclear agreement.
He warned that if these talks fail, Iran could find itself “in great danger.” Trump emphasized, “It’s not a complicated formula. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, that’s all there is,” underscoring his administration’s strict stance on Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
The upcoming negotiations come on the heels of a U.S. military strike against the Houthis, an Iranian-aligned group in Yemen, which has raised tensions in the region.
Trump stated, “I think everybody agrees that doing a deal will be preferable to doing the obvious,” indicating his preference for diplomacy to avoid potential conflict, which he noted both the U.S. and Israel would prefer to sidestep if possible.
These talks were announced during a meeting in the Oval Office with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a vocal opponent of the previous nuclear deal made by the Obama administration.
Trump withdrew from this agreement in 2018, labeling it “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions” the U.S. had entered.
In a Fox News interview last month, Trump expressed his belief that Iran could be managed either through military action or negotiation, indicating his preference for the latter, stating, “I would prefer to make a deal, because I’m not looking to hurt Iran.”
Moreover, tensions escalated when an Iranian official remarked that their military is prepared for a potential strike on Britain’s Chagos Islands, following the deployment of U.S. B-2 bombers in the region.
This backdrop of heightened military readiness further complicates the diplomatic landscape as negotiations approach.
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