Last week, Donald Trump had threatened that Iran would be bombed if it persists in developing nuclear weapons.
US President Donald Trump is seriously considering an Iranian proposal for indirect nuclear talks while simultaneously ramping up US military presence in the Middle East in case he chooses to conduct military strikes, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing sources.
Unidentified US officials, cited by Axios, said that the Trump administration thinks direct talks would have a higher chance of success, but it also does not rule out the format the Iranians proposed and doesn’t object to Oman serving as mediator.
Last week, Trump had threatened that Iran would be bombed if it persisted in developing nuclear weapons.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” NBC News said the president told one of its correspondents in an interview Saturday. It added that he also threatened to punish Iran with what he called “secondary tariffs.”
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In response to Trump’s remarks, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said that the Islamic Republic rejected direct negotiations with the United States over its nuclear program.
“We don’t avoid talks; it’s the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far,” Pezeshkian had said in televised remarks during a Cabinet meeting. “They must prove that they can build trust.”
Analysts have said Iran may be just weeks away from producing a deliverable nuclear weapon — though Tehran denies it is building such arms, according to AFP.
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In 2018, Trump pulled the United States out of an agreement to relieve sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme. However, in his second term, the US president has said that he is open to talks on a new deal that could reduce the risk of military escalation.
