US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would be involved “indirectly” in high-stakes talks between Iran and the US over Tehran’s nuclear program set for Tuesday in Geneva, adding he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal.
“I’ll be involved in those talks, indirectly. And they’ll be very important,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Tensions are soaring ahead of the talks, with the US deploying a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East. The US military is preparing for the possibility of a sustained military campaign if the talks do not succeed, US officials have told Reuters.
Asked about the prospects for a deal, Trump said Iran has long sought a tough posture in negotiations but learned the consequences of that approach last summer when the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites.
Trump suggested Tehran was motivated this time to negotiate.
“I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,” Trump said.
Washington pushes Tehran to forego enrichment
Prior to the US strikes in June, US-Iran nuclear talks had stalled over Washington’s demand that Tehran forgo enrichment on its soil, which the US views as a pathway to an Iranian nuclear weapon.
“We could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s in to knock out their nuclear potential. And we had to send the B-2s,” Trump said, referring to the bat-winged US stealth bombers that carried out the bombings.
“I hope they’re going to be more reasonable.”
The remarks contrast with those by the US president on Friday, when he embraced potential regime change in Iran and lamented decades of failed talks.
