Trump says 'not in a rush' to strike Iran amid nuclear talks

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - United States President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was “not in a rush” to launch military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, a day after reports emerged that he had blocked a proposed attack, as Washington and Tehran prepare for a second round of indirect nuclear talks in Rome this weekend.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office alongside Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Trump addressed reports that he had rejected an Israeli proposal to jointly target Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

“I wouldn’t say ‘waved off,’” he said. “I'm not in a rush to do it.”

“Iran has a chance to have a great country and to live happily without death, and I would like to see that. That is my first option. If there is a second option, I think that would be very bad for Iran,” Trump added.

“I think Iran is wanting to talk. I hope they are wanting to talk,” he said.

A second round of talks between the two sides is set to take place in Rome this weekend with Oman continuing its role as mediator, according to Iranian state media. US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi launched their high-stakes talks last Saturday in Oman, focusing on Tehran’s nuclear program and sanctions relief. Both Washington and Tehran described their first meeting as positive.

Comfort Ero, president of the International Crisis Group, told Rudaw’s Nwenar Fatih on Thursday that both Iran and the United States appear “serious and genuine” about their negotiations.

The United Nations hopes the talks between Washington and Tehran will yield “a positive outcome,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told Rudaw’s Sinan Tuncdemir also on Thursday.

In 2018, Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal, a pact under which Iran had agreed to curb its uranium enrichment program in exchange for sanctions relief. Following his withdrawal, Trump reimposed sweeping sanctions on the Islamic republic, prompting Tehran to gradually roll back its nuclear commitments.

Upon returning to office earlier this year, Trump reinstated his “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, arguing that Tehran was “too close” to developing a nuclear weapon. He has threatened military action should negotiations fail to produce a new agreement.

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. In a rare op-ed published before the Oman meeting, Araghchi wrote: “Under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons.”

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