Dubai (TDI): US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States was getting very close to securing a nuclear agreement with Iran.
“We’re in very serious talks with Tehran for long-term peace,” Trump stated on a tour of the Gulf.
“We’re getting close to reach an agreement. There are two steps to doing this, one is a very nice step and the other is the violent step, but I don’t want to do it the second way,” he said.
Fresh negotiations between US and Iran to resolve disputes over Tehran’s nuclear program ended in Oman on Sunday with further talks planned, officials said, as Iran publicly insisted on continuing its uranium enrichment.
Though both sides have said they prefer diplomacy to resolve the decades-long nuclear issue, they remain divided on several red lines that negotiators will have to circumvent to secure a new agreement and avert future military action.
Read More: Iran Must End Proxy Wars for Nuclear Deal, Trump Tells Gulf Leaders
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian reacted to Trump’s statement on Tuesday terming Tehran the “most destructive force” in the Middle East.
Trump thinks he can sanction and threaten Iran and then talk of human rights. All the crimes and regional instability is caused by the US, he said.
He added that Trump wants to create instability inside Iran.
US officials have publicly stated that Tehran should halt uranium enrichment, a stance Iranian government has termed a “red line” stressing it will not give up what Tehran view as its right to enrich uranium on Iranian soil.
However, the Iranian officials have indicated readiness to reduce the level of enrichment.
Read More: Trump Vows Military Action Against Iran if Talks Fail
They have also expressed willingness to reduce the amount of highly enriched uranium in storage—uranium enriched beyond the levels typically required for civilian purposes like nuclear power generation.
However, they have stated Iran would not accept lower stockpiles than the amount agreed in an agreement with global powers in 2015 deal.
