Key points
- Iran intentionally delaying a nuclear deal: Trump
- A second round of talks is scheduled for Saturday
- US and Iran held indirect talks during former President Biden’s term
ISLAMABAD: President Donald Trump said on Monday he believes Iran is intentionally delaying a nuclear deal with the United States and that it must abandon any drive for a nuclear weapon or face a possible military strike on Tehran’s atomic facilities.
“I think they’re tapping us along,” Trump told reporters after US special envoy Steve Witkoff met in Oman on Saturday with a senior Iranian official, according to Reuters.
Both Iran and the United States said on Saturday that they held “positive” and “constructive” talks in Oman. A second round is scheduled for Saturday, and a source briefed on the planning said the meeting was likely to be held in Rome.
The source, speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, said the discussions are aimed at exploring what is possible, including a broad framework of what a potential deal would look like.
“They’re fairly close”
“Iran has to get rid of the concept of a nuclear weapon. They cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
Asked if US options for a response include a military strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities, Trump said: “Of course it does.”
Trump said the Iranians need to move fast to avoid a harsh response because “they’re fairly close” to developing a nuclear weapon.
The US and Iran held indirect talks during former President Joe Biden’s term but they made little, if any progress.
The last known direct negotiations between the two governments were under then-President Barack Obama, who spearheaded the 2015 international nuclear deal that Trump later abandoned, according to Reuters.
JCPOA
According to the BBC, in 2015, Iran and six world powers – the US, China, France, Russia, Germany and the UK – agreed to the JCPOA after years of negotiations. As well as limiting what Iran was permitted to do with its nuclear programme, it allowed the IAEA to access all of Iran’s nuclear facilities and to carry out inspections of suspect sites.
In return, the powers agreed to lift the sanctions.
The JCPOA was set to last up to 15 years, after which the restrictions would expire.
“Bad deal”
When Donald Trump took office in 2018, he removed the US – which had been a key pillar of the agreement. He said it was a “bad deal” because it was not permanent and did not address Iran’s ballistic missile programme, amongst other things. Trump re-imposed US sanctions as part of a “maximum pressure” campaign to compel Iran to negotiate a new and expanded agreement.
Trump’s decision was influenced by America’s regional allies who were opposed to the deal, chiefly Israel.
