Donald Trump's new warning: ‘Iran has to get rid of concept of nuclear weapon, else…’
Iran and the United States officials met in Oman and held "positive" and "constructive" talks last week.
US President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that Iran has been intentionally delaying a nuclear deal with the United States. He cautioned Tehran against a drive for a nuclear weapon, saying it may have to face a military strike if it didn't desist from its activities.
Iran and the United States officials met in Oman and held "positive" and "constructive" talks last week. A second round is scheduled for Saturday.
Donald Trump said that Tehran must forgo the concept of having a nuclear weapon. "Iran has to get rid of the concept of a nuclear weapon. They cannot have a nuclear weapon," he said.
Asked if the US options for a response include a military strike on Tehran's nuclear facilities, Trump said: “Of course it does.”
He said Iran is fairly close to developing a nuclear weapon, and they need to move fast on the deal or face a harsh response.
Donald Trump said that Iran also wants to deal with the United States.
"Iran wants to deal with us, but they don’t know how. They don’t know how,” Trump said Monday as he met with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office. “We had a meeting with them on Saturday. We have another meeting scheduled next Saturday. That’s a long time. You know, that’s a long time. So, I think they might be tapping us along," he added.
Trump’s downbeat tone came despite negotiators from both nations saying that a meeting Saturday in Oman’s capital of Muscat — headed by Steve Witkoff, Trump’s main Middle East envoy, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi — were constructive.
Trump sidestepped a question about whether he shared that assessment, saying simply that Iran can’t be allowed to get a nuclear weapon, and that the US would consider “something very harsh” if necessary.
Iran claims its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. However, experts say it is producing enriched uranium in amounts enough to produce one bomb every month.
The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said on Sunday that the country's military was ready to "go deep and to go big" against Iran if a diplomatic solution to Tehran's nuclear ambition wasn't found.
Trump said last week that military action was "absolutely" possible – in conjunction with Israel – if the talks in Oman failed.
With inputs from AFP, AP, Bloomberg
