U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he hoped that Israel would not attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, but appeared to suggest that this was a possibility if the Islamic Republic does not accept a deal on its nuclear program.
“We’ll have to see. I’m going to be meeting with various people over the next couple of days. Hopefully, that can be worked out without having to worry about it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, when asked about the possibility of an Israeli strike.
“It would really be nice if that could be worked out without having to go that further step. Hopefully, that can be worked out. Iran hopefully will make a deal, and if they don’t make a deal, I guess that’s OK too,” he said.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special Middle East envoy, will be part of talks about Iran’s nuclear program, Trump also said.
Witkoff, a real estate mogul whom Trump has credited with getting the ceasefire deal with Hamas terrorists over the finish line, is expected to head efforts against Iran’s nuclear program as part of a broader Trump effort to “stop the wars” in the region.
During his first term in 2018, Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal with Iran and stepped up sanctions on the regime in Tehran. The deal offered Iran sanctions relief in exchange for its promise to dial back its nuclear program, which observers say is geared toward obtaining nuclear weapons, for 10 years.
Before he began his second term as president, Trump said he planned to renew his “maximum pressure” policy on Iran, including issuing punishing sanctions and targeting Tehran’s oil revenue.
