President Donald Trump has warned Iran that it must reach an agreement over its nuclear programme within the next 10 to 15 days or “really bad things” will happen. In response, Tehran warned that it would strike US military bases in the region if any attack were launched against it.
Amid a massive US military build-up in the Middle East that has heightened fears of a wider war, Trump said negotiations with Iran aimed to ease the tense standoff were going well but insisted that Tehran reach a “meaningful” agreement.
“Otherwise bad things happen,” Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran, told the first meeting of his Board of Peace in Washington.
Speaking of the US airstrikes carried out in June, Trump said Iran’s nuclear potential had been “decimated, adding, “we may have to take it a step further or we may not.”
“You’ll be finding out over the next probably 10 days,” he said. Asked later to elaborate, he told reporters aboard Air Force One: “I would think that would be enough time, 10, 15 days, pretty much maximum.”
Except to warn again of “really bad things” and insist that Iran would have to make a deal one way or another, he declined to be specific.
Tehran, in a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said it would not start any war but that “if it is subjected to military aggression, Iran will respond decisively and proportionately” in its exercise of the right of self-defence.
The letter said, “All bases, facilities, and assets of the hostile force in the region would constitute legitimate targets. The United States would bear full and direct responsibility for any unpredictable and uncontrolled consequences.”
Amid negotiations, Trump’s threats to bomb Iran have pushed up oil prices, and a Russian corvette warship on Thursday joined planned Iranian naval drills in the Gulf of Oman, a vital sea route for global energy.
On Tuesday, Iranian and US negotiators met, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said they had agreed on “guiding principles.” However, on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the two sides remained apart on some issues.
Trump said “good talks are being had,” and a senior US official said Iran would make a written proposal on how to address US concerns. Trump also called on Tehran to join the US on the “path to peace.”
“They can’t have a nuclear weapon, it’s very simple,” he said. “You can’t have peace in the Middle East if they have a nuclear weapon.”
Facing criticism over its nuclear program, Iran has resisted making major concessions on its nuclear program, though it insists it is for peaceful purposes. The US and Israel, in the past, have accused Tehran of trying to develop a nuclear bomb.
Russian, on Thursday, warned against an “unprecedented escalation of tension” around Iran and urged restraint amid the US military build-up in the region, which a senior American official said should be complete by mid-March.
