US President Donald Trump said American officials will hold direct talks with Iran about its nuclear program, while warning the Iranians they would be in “great danger” if the talks don’t succeed in persuading them to abandon their nuclear weapons program.
The president, in comments to reporters after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the talks will start on Saturday. He insisted Tehran can’t get nuclear weapons.
“We’re dealing with them directly and maybe a deal is going to be made,” Trump said. He added that “doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious.”
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Asked if he would commit to military action against Iran should his negotiators be unable to come to terms with Tehran, Trump responded that “Iran is going to be in great danger, and I hate to say it.”
“If the talks aren’t successful, I think it’s going to be a very bad day for Iran,” Trump said.
Iran’s mission at the United Nations had no immediate comment on Monday.
Trump recently sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader, 85-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling for direct negotiations with the US over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.
But Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said late last month that Iran had rejected Trump’s entreaty while leaving open the possibility of indirect negotiations with Washington.
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But Trump has consistently called on Iran, which is the chief sponsor of Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi militants in Yemen, to abandon its nuclear program or face a reckoning.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” Trump told NBC News last month. “It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before.”
Tehran’s chief envoy to the UN, Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani, has called on members of the Security Council in a series of letters to condemn Trump’s threats of bombing Iran.
Trump during his first White House term withdrew the US from the landmark nuclear accord with Iran negotiated by Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration.
Netanyahu says he supports Trump’s diplomatic efforts to reach a settlement with Iran, adding that Israel and the US share the same goal of ensuring that Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon.
The Israeli leader, known for his hawkish views on Iran and past calls for military pressure, said he would welcome a diplomatic agreement along the lines of Libya’s deal with the international community in 2003.
“I think that would be a good thing,” he said. “But whatever happens, we have to make sure that Iran does not have nuclear weapons.”
