[🇮🇷] Iran & the USA Relationship

[Saif]

Witkoff and Araghchi: The men leading US-Iran nuclear talks

With no prior experience in foreign policy, he landed one of the world's biggest jobs as US President Donald Trump's special envoy to

en.prothomalo.com

Witkoff and Araghchi: The men leading US-Iran nuclear talks
AFP Dubai
Published: 10 Apr 2025, 20: 23

A handout picture provided by the Iranian presidency shows President Masoud Pezeshkian (2nd R) and the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) chief Mohammad Eslami (R) during the "National Day of Nuclear Technology", in Tehran, on 9 April 2025. AFP

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi will be in Oman for breakthrough talks on Tehran's nuclear programme this weekend.

Here are short profiles of the two negotiators:

Witkoff: real estate to world stage

With no prior experience in foreign policy, he landed one of the world's biggest jobs as US President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, and has since led high-stakes talks on Gaza and Ukraine.

Real estate magnate Steve Witkoff first stepped into the spotlight when his close friend Trump credited him with sealing a truce in the Israel-Hamas war.

While the ceasefire collapsed weeks later, it did enable the release of 25 living hostages and the return of eight others' remains.

Witkoff, a 68-year-old billionaire and a regular golfing partner of Trump's, later became the first US official to visit Gaza since the war began with Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel.

He defended Trump's stunning suggestion that he wanted to "take over" the Palestinian territory and move out its two million inhabitants.

"When the president talks about cleaning it out, he talks about making it habitable, and this is a long-range plan," Witkoff told reporters at the White House.

Witkoff has also spearheaded negotiations on Ukraine, with Trump U-turning on his predecessor Joe Biden's policy on Russia.

He was in Russia to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin when a scandal erupted over a leaked Yemen air strike chat on the Signal app that involved National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and other officials.

Witkoff himself has drawn criticism from Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky over his praise for Putin and for appearing to legitimise Russia's annexation of parts of Ukraine.

In March, he was Trump's man in Saudi Arabia for talks on Ukraine, voicing optimism that any agreement struck could pave the way for a "full-on" ceasefire.

Trump has made it a foreign policy goal to end wars that Biden could not stop, meaning that the stakes could hardly be higher for Witkoff.

Ultimately, Witkoff's win in Gaza was short-lived, with US ally Israel restarting intense strikes on 18 March.

On Ukraine, the Russian president has yet to accept a long-term truce.

Born on 15 March 1957, in the New York borough of the Bronx, Witkoff made his fortune in real estate, first as a corporate lawyer and then at the head of big realty firms.

In 1997, he founded the Witkoff Group, which describes itself as "one part developer, one part investor (and) one part landscape-changer." His wife and a son work there.

Araghchi: Iran's career diplomat

A career diplomat and key architect of the 2015 nuclear accord, Araghchi will be pushing the United States to lift its punishing sanctions on Iran.

The 62-year-old, who hails from a family of carpet traders, is fluent in English and has a long career spanning multiple roles in Iran's foreign ministry.

With his crisp beard and salt-and-pepper hair, Araghchi is known for his calm demeanour. He typically wears a suit and a tie-less white mandarin-collared shirt, a standard look among Iranian diplomats.

He holds a bachelor's degree from the foreign ministry's Faculty of International Relations, a master's in political science from the Islamic Azad University, and a doctorate in political thought from the University of Kent in England.

Following the 1979 Islamic revolution, Araghchi joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

He served on the front lines during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s before joining the foreign ministry as an expert on international affairs.

Araghchi was appointed foreign minister after President Masoud Pezeshkian, who has called for reviving talks with the West, took office in July.

He was the chief negotiator at the talks that culminated in the 2015 landmark nuclear deal with world powers, which imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) fell apart after the United States, during Donald Trump's first term, unilaterally withdrew from it and reimposed sweeping economic sanctions.

Araghchi remains a fervent supporter of the deal but said in a recent interview with Khabar Online news agency that the JCPOA "cannot be revived in its current form and text."

"Our nuclear programme has advanced significantly and we can no longer return to the conditions of the JCPOA," he said, adding that the deal "can still be a basis and a model for negotiations".​

 

[Lulldapull]

Trump sahbs offer to Iran is very simple:

1. Stop fukking around with us

2. Stop fukking around with Israel.

3. Let us dismantle your nukes right now, and your missile and drone programs or else!..we'll sell yous weapons, like we do to all the other chutiya countries.

4. Hand over you economy to us and let us run it for you like all these other chutiya colored people.

5. You are not special........just fukking drop it. Start listening to us like all these other chummpu people do.

6. We'll turn you into the next Sawdi Judea.......just listen to us.

7. Get the hell away from Russia and China........right now!

 

[Saif]

Iran seeks fair deal in US nuclear talks

Iran is seeking a ‘real and fair’ agreement with the United States on its nuclear programme, a senior aide to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday, setting the stage for a diplomatic showdown this weekend in Oman.

www.newagebd.net

Iran seeks fair deal in US nuclear talks
Agence France-Presse . Tehran, Iran 11 April, 2025, 22:41

File photo

Iran is seeking a ‘real and fair’ agreement with the United States on its nuclear programme, a senior aide to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday, setting the stage for a diplomatic showdown this weekend in Oman.

Longtime adversaries Iran and the United States are set to hold talks on Saturday aimed at reaching a deal on Tehran’s nuclear programme.

US president Donald Trump last month sent a letter to Khamenei urging negotiations, warning of possible military action if Iran refuses.

‘Far from putting up a show and merely talking in front of the cameras, Tehran is seeking a real and fair agreement, important and implementable proposals are ready,’ Khamenei adviser Ali Shamkhani said in a post on X.

He confirmed that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was heading to Oman ‘with full authority for indirect negotiations with America’, adding that if Washington showed goodwill, the path forward would be ‘smooth’.

In the lead-up to the talks, Trump reiterated his warning that military action was ‘absolutely’ possible if talks failed.

Iran responded by saying it could expel UN nuclear inspectors, prompting another US warning that such action would be an ‘escalation’.

Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

On Friday, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran was ‘giving diplomacy a genuine chance in good faith and full vigilance.’

‘America should appreciate this decision, which was made despite their hostile rhetoric,’ he said.

The talks were first announced by Trump during Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington.

While he said they would be high-level and ‘direct’, Iran has insisted they would be ‘indirect’.

Araghchi and US special envoy Steve Witkoff are due to lead the talks in Oman, which has played a mediating role on the Iran nuclear file.

Witkoff visited Russia on Friday for talks on Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin, an ally of Iran.

Expert-level consultations between Russia, China and Iran on nuclear issues took place in Moscow on Tuesday, according to the Russian foreign ministry.

Iran has in recent months also been talking with the three European signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal, namely France, Germany and Britain.

On Friday, Germany urged the two sides to reach a ‘diplomatic solution’, adding that it is a ‘positive development that there is a channel for dialogue between Iran and the United States’.

Ahead of the talks, the United States imposed additional sanctions on the Islamic republic targeting its oil network and nuclear programme.

Iran’s nuclear agency chief Mohammad Eslami downplayed their impact, saying: ‘They applied maximum pressure with various sanctions, but they were unable to prevent the country from progressing.’

‘They still think that they can stop this nation and country with threats and intimidation, psychological operations, or stupid actions,’ he added.

Iran has come into the spotlight since Trump returned to office, and its regional allies have in recent months suffered major setbacks.

Among them are Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, hit by staggering losses in conflicts with Israel sparked by the October 7, 2023 attack.

Since the start of the Gaza war, Iran and Israel have engaged in direct attacks for the first time in history.

Warning of military action against Iran should the talks fail, Trump said US ally Israel would ‘obviously be very much involved in that, be the leader of that’.

Khamenei’s adviser Shamkhani later warned such threats could prompt the expulsion of UN nuclear watchdog inspectors.

‘Transfer of enriched materials to secure locations may also be considered,’ he added, referring to the country’s uranium enrichment.

While the West wants to include Iran’s ballistic missile programme and its regional influence in negotiations, Tehran has maintained it will only talk about its nuclear programme.

‘If the American side does not raise irrelevant issues and demands and puts aside threats and intimidation, there is a good possibility of reaching an agreement,’ Iran’s deputy foreign minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said.

Hardline media in Iran voiced scepticism on the talks.

The Kayhan newspaper ran editorials warning the new sanctions showed the United States was ‘an enemy of Iran and its people’ and dismissed negotiations to lift sanctions as a ‘failed strategy.’

Reformist media outlets struck a more optimistic tone, emphasising the potential economic and investment opportunities talks could create.

During his first term, Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and reimposed sweeping economic sanctions.

Tehran adhered to the deal for a year but later began rolling back its own commitments.​

 

[Saif]

Iran, US end high-level talks in Oman, agree to resume 'next week', Tehran says

Iran and the US held talks in Oman on Saturday and agreed to reconvene next week, the Iranian side said, a dialogue meant to address Tehran's escalating nuclear programme with President Donald Trump threatening military action if there is no deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi posted on h

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Iran, US end high-level talks in Oman, agree to resume 'next week', Tehran says
REUTERS
Published :
Apr 12, 2025 21:31
Updated :
Apr 12, 2025 21:31

Iran and the US held talks in Oman on Saturday and agreed to reconvene next week, the Iranian side said, a dialogue meant to address Tehran's escalating nuclear programme with President Donald Trump threatening military action if there is no deal.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi posted on his Telegram channel that his delegation had a brief encounter with its US counterpart, headed by Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, after they exited the indirect talks mediated by Oman.

"After the end of more than 2-1/2 hours of indirect talks, the heads of the Iranian and American delegations spoke for a few minutes in the presence of the Omani foreign minister as they left the talks," Araqchi said.

He said the talks - a first between Iran and a Trump administration, including his first term in 2017-21 - took place in a "productive and positive atmosphere".

"Both sides have agreed to continue the talks next week," Araqchi wrote, without elaborating about the venue and date.

There was no immediate US comment on the talks.

Underlining the profound rift between the US and Iran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei earlier said on X that each delegation had its separate room and would exchange messages via Oman's foreign minister.

"The current focus of the talks will be de-escalating regional tensions, prisoner exchanges and limited agreements to ease sanctions (against Iran) in exchange for controlling Iran's nuclear programme," an Omani source told Reuters. Baghaei denied this account but did not specify what was false.

Oman has long been an intermediary between Western powers and Iran, having brokered the release of several foreign citizens and dual nationals held by the Islamic Republic.

Tehran approached the talks warily, sceptical they could yield a deal and suspicious of Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran if it does not halt its accelerating uranium enrichment programme - regarded by the West as a possible pathway to nuclear weapons.

While each side has talked up the chances of some progress, they remain far apart on a dispute that has rumbled on for more than two decades. Iran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons capability, but Western countries and Israel believe it is covertly trying to develop the means to build an atomic bomb.

Saturday's exchanges appeared indirect, as Iran had wanted, rather than face-to-face, as Trump had demanded.

"This is a beginning. So it is normal at this stage for the two sides to present to each other their fundamental positions through the Omani intermediary," Baghaei said.

Signs of progress could help cool tensions in a region aflame since 2023 with wars in Gaza and Lebanon, missile fire between Iran and Israel, Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping and the overthrow of the government in Syria.

HIGH STAKES

However, failure would aggravate fears of a wider conflagration across a region that exports much of the world's oil. Tehran has cautioned neighbouring countries that have US bases that they would face "severe consequences" if they were involved in any US military attack on Iran.

"There is a chance for initial understanding on further negotiations if the other party (US) enters the talks with an equal stance," Araqchi told Iranian TV.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on key state matters, has given Araqchi "full authority" for the talks, an Iranian official told Reuters.

Iran has ruled out negotiating its defence capabilities such as its ballistic missile programme.

Western nations say Iran's enrichment of uranium, a nuclear fuel source, has gone far beyond the requirements of a civilian energy programme and has produced stocks at a level of fissile purity close to those required in warheads.

Trump, who has restored a "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran since February, ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers in 2018 during his first term and reimposed crippling sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Since then, Iran's nuclear programme has leaped forward, including by enriching uranium to 60% fissile purity, a technical step from the levels needed for a bomb.

Israel, Washington's closest Middle East ally, regards Iran's nuclear programme as an existential threat and has long threatened to attack Iran if diplomacy fails to curb its nuclear ambitions.

Tehran's influence throughout the Middle East has been severely weakened over the past 18 months, with its regional allies - known as the "Axis of Resistance" - either dismantled or badly damaged since the start of the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza and the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria in December.​

 

[Saif]

US in hurry for nuclear deal: Iran

The United States wants a nuclear agreement ‘as soon as possible’, Iran said after rare talks on Saturday, as US president Donald Trump threatens military action if they fail to reach a deal.

www.newagebd.net

US in hurry for nuclear deal: Iran
Agence France-Presse . Muscat, Oman 13 April, 2025, 01:20

The United States wants a nuclear agreement ‘as soon as possible’, Iran said after rare talks on Saturday, as US president Donald Trump threatens military action if they fail to reach a deal.

Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, who briefly spoke face-to-face with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff during the indirect meeting in Oman, said the talks would resume next Saturday.

‘The American side also said that a positive agreement was one that can be reached as soon as possible but that will not be easy and will require a willingness on both sides,’ Araghchi told Iranian state television.

‘At today’s meeting, I think we came very close to a basis for negotiation... Neither we nor the other party want fruitless negotiations, discussions for discussions’ sake, time wasting or talks that drag on for ever,’ he added.

Oman’s foreign minister acted as intermediary in the talks in Muscat, Iran said. The Americans had called for the meetings to be face-to-face.

However, the negotiators also spoke directly for ‘a few minutes’, Iran’s foreign ministry said. It said the talks were held ‘in a constructive and mutually respectful atmosphere’.

The long-term adversaries, who have not had diplomatic relations for more than 40 years, are seeking a new nuclear deal after Trump pulled out of an earlier agreement during his first term in 2018.

Araghchi, a seasoned diplomat and key architect of the 2015 accord, and Witkoff, a real estate magnate, led the delegations in the highest-level Iran-US nuclear talks since the previous accord’s collapse.

The two parties were in ‘separate halls’ and were ‘conveying their views and positions to each other through the Omani foreign minister’, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei posted on X.

The process took place in a ‘friendly atmosphere’, Omani foreign minister Badr Albusaidi said.

Iran, weakened by Israel’s pummelling of its allies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, is seeking relief from wide-ranging sanctions hobbling its economy.

Tehran has agreed to the meetings despite baulking at Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign of ramping up sanctions and repeated military threats.

Meanwhile the US, hand-in-glove with Iran’s arch-enemy Israel, wants to stop Tehran from ever getting close to developing a nuclear bomb.

There were no visible signs of the high-level meeting at a luxury hotel in Muscat, the same venue where the 2015 agreement was struck when Barack Obama was US president.

Witkoff told The Wall Street Journal earlier that the US position starts with demanding that Iran completely dismantle its nuclear programme—a view held by hardliners around Trump that few expect Iran to accept.

‘That doesn’t mean, by the way, that at the margin we’re not going to find other ways to find compromise between the two countries,’ Witkoff told the newspaper.

‘Where our red line will be, there can’t be weaponisation of your nuclear capability,’ he added.

The talks were revealed in a surprise announcement by Trump during a White House appearance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

Hours before they began, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One: ‘I want Iran to be a wonderful, great, happy country. But they can’t have a nuclear weapon.’

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s adviser Ali Shamkhani said Iran was ‘seeking a real and fair agreement’.

Saturday’s meetings followed repeated threats of military action by both the US and Israel.

‘If it requires military, we’re going to have military,’ Trump said on Wednesday when asked what would happen if the talks fail.​

 

[Lulldapull]

CIA satellites have discovered a secret underground missile city in the Sudan gents built by the IRGC a decade ago........

 

[Lulldapull]

Irans getting back into the Sudan guys. Get closer to the Zionists and fukking choke the red sea completely for western and Israeli shipping:

 

[Bilal9]

CIA satellites have discovered a secret underground missile city in the Sudan gents built by the IRGC a decade ago........

What took these people a decade to find out about this installation? Wow.

 

[Lulldapull]

What took these people a decade to find out about this installation? Wow.

They just weren't looking in the right places. They thought Irans long left Sudan like a decade ago. Now with Iranian Mohajir 10 drones operating over Sudan and Ethiopia and winning, defeating UAE backed rebels all over the place, the Zionists started scanning east Africa via CIA satellites.

 

[Saif]

Iran says talks with US to focus solely on nuclear issue, lifting sanctions

Iran’s foreign ministry said Sunday that talks with the United States slated for next weekend will remain ‘indirect’ with Omani mediation, and focused solely on the nuclear issue and lifting of sanctions....

www.newagebd.net

Iran says talks with US to focus solely on nuclear issue, lifting sanctions
Agence France-Presse . Tehran, Iran 13 April, 2025, 16:56

The national flag of Iran. | File photo

Iran’s foreign ministry said Sunday that talks with the United States slated for next weekend will remain ‘indirect’ with Omani mediation, and focused solely on the nuclear issue and lifting of sanctions.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff held talks Saturday in Muscat, marking the highest-level Iran-US nuclear negotiations since the collapse of a 2015 accord.

They agreed to meet again in seven days.

‘Negotiations will continue to be indirect. Oman will remain the mediator, but we are discussing the location of future negotiations,’ foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in an interview with state TV.

He said that the talks would only focus on ‘the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions,’ and that Iran ‘will not have any talks with the American side on any other issue.’

Analysts had said the US would push to include on the agenda discussions over Iran’s ballistic missile programme along with Tehran’s support for the ‘axis of resistance’ -- a network of militant groups opposed to Israel.

Tehran has, however, maintained it will talk only about its nuclear programme.

Donald Trump in 2018 pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers during his first term as US president.

Saturday’s rare negotiations came weeks after Trump sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging nuclear talks while warning of possible military action if Iran refuses.

Iran and the US separately described Saturday’s discussions as ‘constructive’.

Iran said that the talks were held indirectly with Oman’s foreign minister acting as intermediary.

The negotiators, Araghchi and Witkoff, spoke directly for ‘a few minutes’ after the talks, Tehran’s foreign ministry said.

Another round of talks will be held on Saturday, April 19.

Asked about the talks, Trump told journalists aboard Air Force One: ‘I think they’re going OK. Nothing matters until you get it done.’

The process took place in a ‘friendly atmosphere’, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said.

Iran, reeling from Israel’s pummelling of its allies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, is seeking relief from wide-ranging sanctions hobbling its economy.

Tehran has agreed to the meetings despite baulking at Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign of ramping up sanctions and repeated military threats.

On Sunday, Iranian media largely welcomed the rare talks as a ‘decisive turning point’ in relations between the longtime foes.

Iran’s conservative Javan daily praised the US for ‘not seeking to expand the negotiations to non-nuclear issues’.

The government-sponsored newspaper, Iran, described the discussions as ‘constructive and respectful,’ quoting Araghchi.

Meanwhile, the reformist Shargh newspaper said it was a ‘decisive turning point’ in Iran-US relations.

The hardline Kayhan newspaper, which was largely sceptical in the days leading up to the talks, lamented that Iran does not have a ‘plan B’ while there was ‘no clear prospect for an agreement with Donald Trump.’

It, however, lauded the fact that the American side did not bring up ‘the dismantling of nuclear facilities’ and ‘the possibility of a military attack’ during the discussions.

Tehran and Washington have had no diplomatic relations since shortly after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the Western-backed shah.

Iran has been wary about engaging in talks with the United States, often citing previous experience and undermined trust.

After pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal Trump reimposed sweeping economic sanctions against Iran.

Tehran continued to adhere to the agreement for a year after Washington’s pullout but later began rolling back its own commitments.

Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.​

 

[Lulldapull]

Man this MQ-9 Reaper is very quickly claiming the title of most shot down drone after the TB-2 bayraftar drone.......

Its getting sick guys. Iranian 358 L/M shot it down as usual........its a massacre really.

The USAF/ USN aviation refuses to go near Yemen and all US attacks are just pin picks via BGM-109Q's or the JSSM.

Yemeni Forces Shoot Down Another US MQ-9 Drone - World news - Tasnim News Agency

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Yemen’s armed forces said on Sunday they had downed an American MQ-9 drone, marking the 19th such incident amid escalating confrontations with the United States and Israel.

www.tasnimnews.com

 

[Saif]

Trump says Iran must give up dream of nuclear weapon or face harsh response

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

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Trump says Iran must give up dream of nuclear weapon or face harsh response
REUTERS
Published :
Apr 14, 2025 23:40
Updated :
Apr 15, 2025 00:15

US President Donald Trump meets with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele (not pictured) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Apr 14, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Kevin Lama

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.

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.

"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.​

 

[Lulldapull]

Trump says Iran must give up dream of nuclear weapon or face harsh response

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

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Trump says Iran must give up dream of nuclear weapon or face harsh response
REUTERS
Published :
Apr 14, 2025 23:40
Updated :
Apr 15, 2025 00:15

View attachment 16507
US President Donald Trump meets with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele (not pictured) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Apr 14, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Kevin Lama

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.

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.

"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.​

He's a liar. Witcoff didn't utter a pip squeak on any of Iran's red lines. Nothing whatsoever!

Trump sahb has agreed to Iran doing whatever it is doing just so as long as it doesn't destroy Israel......

He has even hinted at investing in Iran.

Everything's been totally turned on its head.

Irans position is strong and Trump knows attacking Iran is pointless. If he uses nukes it will be geo-political suicide by the US.

Conventional attack won't even scratch Iran.

The only way we'll take Trumps anti-Iran seriously is if the US invades Lebanon or Yemen and physically dismatles hezb or Hoosi's......with 250k boots on da ground like hollywood war filumm.

I mean its over guys.......we were all fooled all this while.

 

[Saif]

Conventional attack won't even scratch Iran.

I think Iranian military is not strong enough to repel U.S attack. Due to Western sanction, Iran has failed to build a strong military.......some people even say that Iranian military is a joke. The only weapon Iran has which could inflict damage to the U.S. army is their missiles. If Iran can save its missile arsenal from the USAF then they can resist an U.S. attack for a few weeks.

 

[Lulldapull]

I think Iranian military is not strong enough to repel U.S attack. Due to Western sanction, Iran has failed to build a strong military.......some people even say that Iranian military is a joke. The only weapon Iran has which could inflict damage to the U.S. army is their missiles. If Iran can save its missile arsenal from the USAF then they can resist an U.S. attack for a few weeks.

US has been pounding hezb, hamas hoosi and Iraqi militias for last two years and nothing has happened. Assad fell because both Russia and Iran withdrew support because he was just infiltrated by Mossad and NATO intelligence and because of his negligence Soleimani got killed along with many other IRGC commanders. So both dropped their support and he fell very quickly.

Rest of the resistance axis is doing good!

Final warning of Iranian deputy foreign minister to trump:



The US has basically surrendered to Iran in the negotiations.