On Wednesday, President Trump admitted that he had cautioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to avoid any actions that might jeopardize the discussions between the Trump administration and Iran regarding a new nuclear agreement.
“To be frank, yes, I did. What’s the next question?” Trump responded when questioned about whether he had advised Netanyahu against striking Iran to prevent disrupting the negotiations with Tehran, as stated by U.S. officials.
“It’s not a warning,” Trump continued. “I said, ‘I don’t think it’s appropriate.’ I simply expressed that now is not the right time for such actions, as we are having very promising discussions with them.”
The question to Trump was prompted by Axios reporting revealing a conversation between Trump and Netanyahu, noting Israel has been preparing for potential strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities if talks falter, prompting the
Officials from Iran and the U.S. have been engaged in talks in recent weeks around Tehran’s nuclear program. Trump during his first term withdrew the U.S. from the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal, which had offered sanctions relief in exchange for limits on its nuclear program.
The president has since taken a softer tone toward Iran during his second term and signaled he could be open to Iran having a civilian nuclear program, but has been adamant that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
Trump repeated his optimism on the talks Wednesday, telling reporters, “We’re doing very well with Iran.”
