U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he expects Iran to sign a deal with the United States in the next month or face “traumatic” consequences.
Speaking to reporters at the White House during an announcement about U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations, Trump said that his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu on Wednesday was “very good” but that the United States and the Islamic Republic “have to make a deal.”
“It’s ultimately up to me,” Trump said. “If the deal isn’t a very fair deal and a very good deal with Iran, it’s going to be a very difficult time for them.”
The United States and Iran held talks in Oman on Friday. The Islamic Republic has said that the discussions are limited to nuclear issues, but Trump and other U.S. officials have said that a deal with Iran should also address its ballistic missile program and the regime’s repression of domestic protests.
“I guess over the next month, something like that,” Trump said, of when he expects an outcome for the talks. “It should happen quickly. They should agree very quickly.”
Trump rejected a question from a reporter claiming that Netanyahu had urged Trump to cancel the talks.
“You’re saying stop entertaining, stop talking to them? He didn’t say that. We didn’t discuss that,” the president said. “I’ll go to them as long as I like.”
A reporter asked Trump if Netanyahu bore responsibility for the Oct. 7 attacks. The U.S. president said that “everybody’s responsible” for failing to predict Hamas’s surprise attack and then slammed Israeli President Isaac Herzog for not giving Netanyahu a pardon in his ongoing corruption trial.
“He should be ashamed of himself,” Trump said, of Herzog. “He’s disgraceful by not giving it.”
Herzog’s office responded to Trump’s comments, saying that Netanyahu’s pardon request is being reviewed by the Israeli Ministry of Justice and that, per standard procedure, the president will only consider a pardon after that review is completed.
