U.S.-Iran nuclear talks are planned for Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Iran to make a nuclear deal.“We have ships heading to Iran right now, big ones, biggest and the best, and we have talks going on with Iran. We’ll see how it works out,” Trump said.
The scheduled meeting comes a few days after the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Iranian officials for violent repression and corruption.
Iranian leaders had conducted brutal crackdowns on protestors, killing at least 36,500 people, according to the Iran International.
Trump said he told Iran it has to do two things to avoid military action as the U.S. builds up its forces in the Gulf—to stop killing protestors and no development of a nuclear weapon.
During his remarks from the White House in June last year after Operation Midnight Hammer in which the US military carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Trump said, “For 40 years, Iran has been saying, ‘Death to America, Death to Israel’.”
“They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs, with roadside bombs. That was their specialty, we lost over 1,000 people.”
“And hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate, in particular, so many were killed by their general Qasem Soleimani.”
“I decided a long time ago that I would not let this happen. It will not continue.” Trump added.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said, “The president’s been clear from the beginning, as he was before Midnight Hammer.”
“Iran will not have nuclear weapons capabilities. And so they can either negotiate on that front, or we have other options. That’s why the War Department exists,” he added.
