Trump ‘less confident’ Iran will reach nuclear deal

US President Donald Trump says he is less optimistic about the prospects for reaching a nuclear deal with Iran — while emphasizing that one way or another, Tehran will be barred from achieving nuclear weapon capabilities.

By World Israel News Staff

President Donald Trump is “less confident” that he can reach a nuclear agreement with Iran to peacefully settle differences over Tehran’s atomic program, hinting at a possible military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.

The president spoke with The New York Post newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday, discussing America’s options amid stalled nuclear talks with Iran’s government.

When asked whether he believes he can reach an agreement with Tehran, Trump replied, “I don’t know.”

“I don’t know. I did think so, and I’m getting more and more — less confident about it.”

Iran, Trump continued, seems “to be delaying. And I think that’s a shame.”

“But I’m less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago. Something happened to them, but I am much less confident of a deal being made.”

However, the president emphasized that with, or without, a nuclear deal, his administration would not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, hinting at a possible military solution should talks fail.

“Well, if they don’t make a deal, they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.

“If they do make a deal, they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon, too, you know? But they’re not going a have a new nuclear weapon, so it’s not going to matter from that standpoint.”

“But it would be nicer to do it without warfare, without people dying, it’s so much nicer to do it. But I don’t think I see the same level of enthusiasm for them to make a deal. I think they would make a mistake, but we’ll see. I guess time will tell.”

Trump made similar comments to Fox News TV in a report published on Tuesday, saying that Iran has become “much more aggressive” in talks.

The senior US military officer commanding American forces in the Middle East, Gen. Michael Kurilla, testified before the US Congress that he has already briefed Trump on possible military operations that could be undertaken against Iran, should negotiations fail.

Yet the president also was quoted by a White House official as telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that he “doesn’t want anything to impede,” urging the Israeli leader to refrain from striking Iran at this time.