The U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Washington might strike Iran again if the parties fail to reach an agreement on the nuclear program. According to him, he was close to making a decision on a new attack but temporarily postponed it following a peace proposal from Tehran.
“I was an hour away from making the decision to start today,” Trump told reporters at the White House, a day after his statement about suspending the planned resumption of strikes in light of Tehran’s new peace proposal, the BBC’s Russian Service reports yesterday.
According to him, the Iranian leadership is eager to reach an agreement with the U.S. as soon as possible, but Washington is ready for new strikes if negotiations fail. The American president stated that a decision could be made in the coming days.
Trump emphasized that the United States does not intend to allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons and is considering a limited window of time to reach an agreement.
Later, U.S. Vice President JD Vance reported that the American and Iranian sides have made significant progress in the dialogue. According to him, Tehran is interested in concluding a deal, and both sides aim to avoid a new wave of military conflict.
Vance also warned that Iran obtaining nuclear weapons could trigger an arms race in the Middle East, as other countries in the region might want to create their own nuclear arsenals.
The U.S. Vice President stated that the issue of possibly transferring Iranian enriched uranium to Russia is not currently being considered by Washington. According to him, Tehran has also not raised this topic during negotiations.
Meanwhile, earlier, Iranian state media reported on Tehran’s new peace proposal. Iran proposes to cease hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, achieve the withdrawal of American troops from border areas, and receive compensation for the damage caused by US-Israeli strikes.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, stated that Tehran also demands the lifting of sanctions, unfreezing of foreign assets, and the cessation of the U.S. maritime blockade.
At the same time, the conditions of the new proposal are almost identical to the previous Iranian plan, which Trump had earlier criticized.
