US President Donald Trump has said that Washington remains engaged in “deep talks” with Tehran, but is also preparing to restart military offensives if negotiations stall.
“If they don’t work out, we will go back to very strong military action,” Trump told Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 on Monday. He emphasised that the diplomatic window is narrow, noting that the process must move forward rapidly “or not at all.”
He asserted that he thinks Iran wants to make a deal.
The US president explained he paused strikes on Friday following appeals from regional mediators. “All of the people that deal with Iran asked me: ‘Don’t fire’,” Trump claimed, asserting that there was “nothing gained, nothing lost by granting the request.”
Trump’s remarks come ahead of his scheduled meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday. The two countries launched strikes on Iran late February, citing threats and Tehran’s nuclear programme.
“I am going to talk to Bibi about the fact that if I weren’t president, Iran would have had nuclear weapons by now and Israel would have been destroyed,” Trump said.
