US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he expected a deal with Iran to take shape within the next month, warning Tehran that failure to reach a consensus posed great dangers.
Asked by reporters at the White House about the timeframe he envisioned for reaching a deal, the US president said: “I would guess that something like that should happen quickly, within the next month.”
“We have to make a deal, otherwise it will be very traumatic. I don’t want that to happen, but we have to make a deal. They should have made a deal the first time. Instead, they got the ‘Midnight Hammer,’ and this is going to be very traumatic for Iran if they don’t make a deal,” he said, referring to US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last June.
“Yesterday we had a very good meeting with Bibi Netanyahu (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) and he understands, but ultimately it’s up to me. If the deal is not a very fair deal and a very good deal with Iran, then I think it’s going to be a very difficult time for them,” he added.
Trump said shortly after the meeting that “nothing definitive has been achieved except that I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see if a deal can be made or not.”
Asked if Netanyahu wanted Trump to walk away from the talks, the US president said: “We haven’t talked about that. I’ll talk to them as much as I want and see if we can make a deal with them.”
The US and Iran held talks in Oman last Friday for the first time since the June attacks, and are expected to hold more rounds of talks at a yet-to-be-determined date. The meeting marked the end of a roughly eight-month suspension.
Amid the talks, the US has significantly increased its military presence in the region, while Trump has warned Iran that it must make a deal.
The US has already deployed the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln from the South China Sea.
Iran has argued that the US and Israel are inventing pretexts for military intervention and regime change, warning that it will respond to any military attack, even if limited, and insisting on the lifting of Western economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
Uranium enrichment remains a central point of contention.
The US is demanding that Iran stop enriching uranium and move highly enriched uranium out of the country – something Tehran cannot accept.
Washington has sought to include Iran’s missile program and its support for armed groups in the region in the talks, but Tehran has repeatedly said it will not negotiate on issues beyond its nuclear program.
