Iran defence minister ramps up U.S. threat as Trump says he's 'less confident' about nuclear talks
U.S. president seems to be lowering expectations as sides prepare for 6th round of talks
U.S. President Donald Trump said he was less confident that Iran will agree to stop uranium enrichment in a nuclear deal with Washington, according to an interview released on Wednesday.
"I don't know. I did think so, and I'm getting ... less confident about it," Trump told the Pod Force One podcast from the New York Post this week when asked if he thought he could get Iran to agree to shut down its nuclear program.
Trump has been seeking a new nuclear deal to place limits on Iran's disputed uranium enrichment activities and has threatened the Islamic Republic with bombing if no agreement is reached.
He told reporters at the White House on Monday that he had discussed Iran with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday and said talks with Iranians were "tough."
"Iran is acting much differently in negotiations than it did just days ago," Trump said in a separate interview with Fox News this week. "Much more aggressive. It's surprising to me."
If the nuclear negotiations fail and conflict arises with the United States, Iran will strike American bases in the region, Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said on Wednesday.
"Some officials on the other side threaten conflict if negotiations don't come to fruition. If a conflict is imposed on us … all U.S. bases are within our reach and we will boldly target them in host countries," Nasirzadeh said during a weekly press briefing.
Trump suggests Iran doesn't want a deal
In the podcast interview, Trump said the Iranians seem to be using delaying tactics.
Trump repeated that Washington would not allow Tehran to develop nuclear bombs — by enriching uranium to high levels of fissile purity — whether or not a deal is reached.
"But it would be nicer to do it without warfare, without people dying, it's so much nicer to do it. But I don't think I see the same level of enthusiasm for them to make a deal."
Iran has long said it has no plans to develop nuclear weapons and is only interested in atomic power generation and other peaceful projects.
Iran and the U.S. have gone through five rounds of negotiations over a possible deal, with talks mediated by the sultanate of Oman.
But they are sending mixed messages on when they will resume. Trump has said negotiations would be held on Thursday, while Tehran says they will take place on Sunday in Oman.
The talks have been led by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.
Enrichment levels, inspections fuel conflict
Last week, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed a U.S. proposal as being against Iran's interests, pledging to continue enrichment on Iranian soil.
During his first term in 2018, Trump ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. Iran responded by escalating enrichment far beyond that pact's limits.
Iran says the West has turned a blind eye to Israel's nuclear program while pushing against Iran's. Israel neither confirms nor denies that it has nuclear weapons.
Last year, Israel carried out its first military airstrikes on Iran — and has warned it is willing to take action alone to target Tehran's program, as it has in the past in Iraq in 1981 or Syria in 2007.
Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with several world powers, negotiated under then-president Barack Obama, allowed Iran to enrich uranium to 3.67 per cent — enough to fuel a nuclear power plant but far below the threshold of 90 per cent needed for weapons-grade uranium. It also drastically reduced Iran's stockpile of uranium, limited its use of centrifuges and relied on the International Atomic Energy Agency to oversee Tehran's compliance through additional oversight.
Iran now enriches up to 60 per cent, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels.
In the years since Trump's 2018 decision, Iran has limited IAEA inspections and stopped the agency from accessing camera footage. It's also removed cameras.
This week, Western nations will push for a measure at the IAEA's board of governors censuring Iran over its noncompliance with inspectors, pushing the matter before the UN Security Council. Barring any deal with Washington, Iran could then face what's known as "snapback" — the reimposition of all UN sanctions that were originally lifted by the 2015 deal, if one of its Western parties declares the Islamic Republic is out of compliance with it.
Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said earlier on Wednesday that Moscow was willing to remove nuclear materials from Iran and convert them into fuel as a potential way to help narrow differences between the United States and Iran over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed Russia stood ready to help if necessary.
Iran and Russia are allies, with Tehran providing drones that have been used by Moscow in its war in Ukraine.
With files from the Associated Press