WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders have each expressed willingness in recent days to continue talks in their new attempt to reach a nuclear deal. At the same time, each side has made moves to show the other they’re ready for military confrontation if talks fail.
President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders have each expressed willingness in recent days to continue talks in their new attempt to reach a nuclear deal. (TNND)
“This will be very traumatic for Iran if they don’t make a deal,” Trump said hours after sharing a Wall Street Journal article on social media reporting a second U.S. aircraft carrier strike group received orders to prepare for potential deployment to the Middle East.
Citing a U.S. official, the newspaper reported a carrier was being readied to mobilize in two weeks, likely from the U.S. East Coast. If deployed, it would join the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group already positioned in the Middle East.
Following his hours-long meeting on Wednesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has urged Trump to widen the scope of nuclear talks with Iran to include the country’s ballistic missile program and support for proxy groups, Trump said “nothing definitive” was decided other than his intent to see talks continue.
“We had a very good meeting yesterday with Bibi Netanyahu and he understands, but it’s ultimately up to me. If the deal isn’t a very fair deal and a very good deal with Iran, then it’s going to be a, I think a very difficult time for them,” Trump said.
Iranian leaders have strongly insisted that the talks focus narrowly on nuclear issues.
“If the Americans’ concern is that Iran should not move toward acquiring a nuclear weapon, this is something that can be resolved. But introducing issues beyond that into the negotiations will complicate the path,” said Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
Tehran has suggested one area of potential compromise: uranium enrichment levels.
“We have shown flexibility. We have said that we would be ready to talk about the level of enrichment,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said.
Iran has also been blunt about its preparedness to engage militarily. On Thursday, an Iranian state media outlet posted a video of naval officers chanting “Down with the U.S.A.” Another state-owned outlet posted a video clip claiming to show an American military compound in Saudi Arabia under Iranian surveillance.
A date for the next round of talks between the U.S. and Iran has not been scheduled yet. Trump thinks a deal should be made quickly, roughly within the span of a month, he said Thursday.
National Headline
