Donald Trump said he was considering a limited strike on Iran as talks advance on a draft nuclear deal, with both sides eyeing swift sanctions relief but trading threats.
US President Donald Trump said he was mulling a limited strike on Iran after ordering a major naval buildup in the Middle East aimed at further pressuring Tehran to cut a deal to curb its nuclear programme.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
"The most I can say — I am considering it," Trump said when asked by a reporter at a White House breakfast with US governors on Friday.
The latest warning came after Iran's foreign minister said a draft agreement with Washington would be ready in a matter of days following negotiations between the two sides in Geneva earlier this week.
Trump had suggested on Thursday that "bad things" would happen if Tehran did not strike a deal within 10 days, which he subsequently extended to 15.
After the talks in Geneva, Tehran said the two sides had agreed to submit drafts of a potential agreement, which Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told US media would be the "next step".
"I believe that in the next two, three days, that would be ready, and after final confirmation by my superiors, that would be handed over to Steve Witkoff," he said, referring to Trump's main Middle East negotiator.
Araghchi also said US negotiators had not requested that Tehran end its nuclear enrichment programme, contradicting statements from American officials.
"We have not offered any suspension, and the US side has not asked for zero enrichment," he said in an interview released Friday by US TV network MS NOW.
"What we are now talking about is how to make sure that Iran's nuclear programme, including enrichment, is peaceful and would remain peaceful forever," he added.
His comments stand in contrast to information relayed by high-ranking US officials, including Trump, who has repeatedly said Iran must not be allowed to enrich uranium at any level.
'Meaningful deal, otherwise bad things happen'
Western countries accuse the Islamic Republic of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies, though it insists on its right to enrichment for civilian purposes.
Iran, for its part, is seeking to negotiate an end to sanctions that have proven to be a massive drag on its economy.
Economic hardships sparked protests in December that evolved into a nationwide anti-government movement last month, prompting a crackdown from authorities that left as many as 30,000 dead, with further thousands feared possibly killed as well, rights groups and insiders in Iran have said.
The two sides held an initial round of discussions on February 6 in Oman, the first since previous talks collapsed during the 12-day Iran-Israel conflict last June, which the US joined by striking Iranian nuclear facilities.
On Thursday, Trump again suggested the US would attack Iran if it did not make a deal within the timeframe he laid out.
"We have to make a meaningful deal otherwise bad things happen," Trump told the inaugural meeting of the "Board of Peace", his initiative for the post-war Gaza Strip.
Iran's ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, warned that US bases, facilities and assets would be "legitimate targets" if the United States followed through on its threats.
Araghchi, however, insisted that "there is no ultimatum".
"We only talk with each other how we can have a fast deal. And a fast deal is something that both sides are interested about," he said.
"We are under sanctions, (so) obviously any day that sanctions are terminated sooner it would be better for us," he said, adding Iran had "no reason to delay".