Trump acknowledged on Friday he is pushing for a revised accord to curtail Iran’s nuclear ambitions, stating, “We cannot allow them to have a nuclear weapon.”
He warned Tehran that military conflict could be the fallback option: “I’d rather have a peaceful agreement than the other thing, but the other thing will solve the problem.”
The White House has not disclosed the content of Trump’s message to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while Iranian officials have rejected any talks until the United States lifts its “maximum pressure” sanctions.
$10 billion arms deal with Israel
Amid heightened regional tensions, the Trump administration has approved weapons deals worth roughly $10 billion for Israel, according to government releases.
The arms packages include tens of thousands of 2,000-pound bombs, thousands of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, and a range of guidance kits—most manufactured by Boeing—indicating a possible preparation by Israel for further military operations in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, or against Iran.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently praised the “commitment to providing Israel with the munitions it needs,” during a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Israel would resume efforts to eradicate Hamas in Gaza, warning that it cannot be allowed to “reconstitute” and threaten the region.
Iran responds with defiance
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragczi dismissed the new diplomatic overture, insisting no talks would resume unless Washington ends its policy of intense sanctions.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Mariano Grossi recently warned Tehran is “dangerously close” to obtaining nuclear weapons capability, saying it already has enough highly enriched uranium to build several types of nuclear arms.
U.S.-Iran relations remain particularly fraught, as American prosecutors alleged last year that Iranian operatives plotted to assassinate Trump before the 2024 U.S. elections—an accusation Iran denies.
(jh)
Source: Politico, CNN, BBC, Ken Klippenstein, Onet