TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - United States President Donald Trump on Thursday predicted the future of the deal with Iran will be seen in the next 10 days. He threatened that Washington might escalate pressure if the negotiations fail.
"We may have to take it a step further, or we may not," he said at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington, adding that the situation is likely to become clearer "over the next probably 10 days."
Trump said his envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, have built a solid working relationship with Iranian representatives and the talks are going well.
"Iran is a hotspot right now, and they're meeting, and they have a good relationship with the representatives of Iran. Good talks are being had," he said, as quoted by Anadolu.
Trump stressed one condition that Iran must meet, which is not to have nuclear weapons.
"They can't have a nuclear weapon. It's very simple. You can't have peace in the Middle East if they have a nuclear weapon," he said.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance described the talks in Geneva on Tuesday as productive "in some ways," but said Iran was "not yet willing" to discuss Trump's main requirements.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the atmosphere as "more constructive."
Trump claimed that reaching a "meaningful agreement" with Tehran has historically proven difficult.
"It's proven to be, over the years, not easy to make a meaningful deal with Iran. We have to make a meaningful deal. Otherwise, bad things happen," he said.
He urged Tehran to seize the moment. "Now is the time for Iran to join us on a path that will complete what we're doing," Trump said.
"If they join us, that'll be great. If they don't join us, that'll be great too, but it'll be a very different path," he said.
The president claimed that Iran "cannot continue to threaten the stability of the entire region" and must reach a deal.
Trump also praised the U.S. attack last June on Iran's nuclear facilities as a trigger for a relatively calm moment in the region, saying that the attack from B-2 bombers "totally decimated" Iran's nuclear potential.
He argued that the elimination of that threat is a decisive factor in achieving what he called peace.
Weekend Attack?
The U.S. and Iran have recently continued indirect talks, mediated by Oman, after Trump threatened military action against Iran for brutal crackdowns on protesters last month.
A day earlier, Trump hinted on Truth Social that the U.S. might attack Iran.
He warned Britain not to relinquish sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, saying that the Diego Garcia airbase on the islands might be needed if Iran does not agree to a deal, "to deter potential attacks by a very unstable and dangerous regime in the Middle East," calling it "the most important thing of all."
The statement came as Washington has deployed the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to the region, with the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier also on the way, along with additional fighter jets.
Reports from CNN and CBS, as quoted by NDTV, said the U.S. could be prepared to launch attacks on Iran as early as this weekend.
According to CNN's report, the White House has been briefed that the military is ready to strike over the weekend, but Trump remains unsure if that is the best course of action.
Citing the source, the U.S. publication reported that America's top commander has personally argued both for and against military action and has sought the views of advisers and allies on the best course of action.
It is still unclear whether he will decide over the weekend. "He is spending a lot of time thinking about this," said a source.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Trump has been briefed on military options with "all of them designed to maximise damage," including a campaign to "kill scores of Iranian political and military leaders, with the goal of overthrowing the government," said an unnamed US official to the newspaper.
On Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the country does not want war, but hinted that it also cannot submit to U.S. demands.
"From the day I took office, I have believed that war must be set aside. But if they are going to try to impose their will on us, humiliate us and demand that we bow our heads at any cost, should we accept that?"
Read: Iran President Says Nuclear Talks with U.S. Approved by Khamenei
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