Washington [US], April 8: U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would negotiate directly with Iran to prevent the country from possessing a nuclear bomb, and warned Tehran of catastrophic consequences if the deal failed.
"We are negotiating directly with Iran and everything has begun. On April 12, we have a very big meeting, and we'll see what happens," Trump told reporters as he sat next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office on April 7.
Trump said talks are underway to avoid U.S. or Israeli military strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. "I think if the negotiations with Iran don't go through, Iran will be in great danger... because they can't have nuclear weapons," The Guardian quoted Trump as saying.
"This is not a complicated issue. Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. Currently, the world is witnessing many countries with nuclear energy that they should not have. But I'm sure we can also negotiate a way out of this situation for the future."
The US president did not give details about where the talks will take place or which officials will be involved in the process.
In his first term (2017 - 2021), President Trump reimposed strict sanctions on Iran after the United States withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed between Iran and the P5+1 group (including the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany).
For his part, hours before Trump's statement, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the country was waiting for a U.S. response to its proposal for indirect negotiations, believing that Iran was making a generous, responsible and honorable offer.
Iran has previously rejected President Trump's request for direct negotiations, but it wants to continue indirect negotiations through Oman. Iran has also repeatedly denied any intention to build a nuclear bomb and said its program was purely civilian.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
