Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that military action against Iran was "absolutely" possible and that there was "very little time" left to reach a nuclear agreement.
"If force has to be used, we will use force," the U.S. president told reporters. "Israel will obviously be very involved, it will lead the way," he added at the White House.
This threat comes just days before discussions scheduled for Saturday in the Sultanate of Oman, which will be attended by U.S. envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Western countries, led by the United States, have suspected for decades that Tehran is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. Iran denies these allegations and insists its nuclear activities are solely for civilian purposes.
In March, Donald Trump sent a letter to Iran calling for negotiations on the nuclear issue, aiming to replace the previous international agreement, which became defunct after Washington withdrew from it in 2018.
But he also threatened to bomb Iran if diplomacy failed and imposed additional sanctions on Iran’s oil sector.
During his first term, Donald Trump dramatically withdrew from the nuclear deal, which had offered Iran relief from international sanctions in exchange for strict limitations on its nuclear program under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a staunch hardliner, the U.S. president surprised many by announcing on Monday that Washington was conducting "direct" talks with Tehran, even though the two countries have had no diplomatic relations for 45 years.
Following this announcement, Benjamin Netanyahu deemed military action against Iran "inevitable" if the talks drag on.
For its part, Iran said it was willing to negotiate but rejected any direct dialogue under threat and pressure.
With AFP
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