“All options are on the table” to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz said on Sunday.
U.S. President Donald Trump is “deadly serious when he says Iran can never have a nuke, and certainly not on President Trump’s watch,” Waltz told Fox News Sunday when asked about a potential U.S. military action against Tehran’s nuclear project.
He declined to provide details on what actions the United States would take, but stated that the Islamic Republic is “an irrational actor that we cannot allow to have [its] finger on the button.”
Washington can talk to the Iranians, if “they want to give up their entire program and not play games as we’ve seen Iran do in the past in prior negotiations,” Waltz continued.
But in any case, “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. That wouldn’t only be existential for Israel; I think it would be existential for the entire world because it could kick off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East,” he said.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is looking to mediate between Washington and Tehran, CNN reported.
The report did not indicate whether Riyadh had made a formal offer on the matter, but suggested that it sought to improve its relations with Iran, a former enemy of the Saudis.
Riyadh is concerned that after the collapse of Iran’s proxies in Syria and Lebanon in the wake of Hezbollah’s military weakening in its war with Israel, the mullahs will pursue nuclear weapons with more urgency, according to CNN.
The report read that now that the deterrent factor of the proxies was gone, Tehran fears an Israeli attack against its nuclear project.
However, last week, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that entering talks with the United States would not be “smart.”
The U.S. State Department and the Saudi Foreign Ministry didn’t respond to CNN’s requests for comment.
On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made his first official visit to the Jewish state.
At a joint press conference, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Today, Secretary Rubio and I had a very productive discussion with our staff on a number of issues. None of them are more important than Iran. Israel and America stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering the threat of Iran. We agreed that the ayatollahs must not have nuclear weapons and we also agreed that Iran’s aggression in the region has to be rolled back.
“Over the last 16 months, Israel has dealt a mighty blow to Iran’s terror axis. Under the strong leadership of President Trump, and with your unflinching support, I have no doubt that we can and will finish the job.”
Rubio stated that “There can never be a nuclear Iran. A nuclear Iran, that could then hold itself immune from pressure and from action. That can never happen. The president’s been clear about that as well.”
He went on to say that “Iran is the single greatest source of instability in the region. Behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilizing activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people who call this region home, is Iran.”
