President Donald Trump expressed disappointment with the negotiation process with Iran regarding the nuclear program, and warned that "sometimes force must be used" in the context of the US increasing its military presence in the region.
Speaking at an event in Corpus Christi, Texas, Mr. Trump said that Tehran is not ready to declare its renunciation of nuclear weapons. "They do not want to say key words like'we will not possess nuclear weapons'. I am not satisfied with the negotiations," he said, but emphasized that a final decision on the use of force has not been made. He affirmed that the US has the strongest military in the world and hopes not to use it.
The latest round of negotiations in Geneva between US special envoys Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Iranian officials ended without reaching an agreement. However, Oman Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi - the intermediary - said that there has been significant progress and a "peace agreement within reach" if diplomacy is given the necessary space. He said that Iran agrees in principle not to possess nuclear material that can be used to make weapons.
Iran denies seeking to develop nuclear weapons and hopes all agreements will include lifting US sanctions.
The US has increased diplomatic and military pressure on Iran after Tehran suppressed domestic protesters, aiming to force the country's leadership to abandon nuclear weapons and activities that Washington considers destabilizing. 2 US aircraft carrier strike groups are present in the area, waiting for orders from Mr. Trump. Previously, the US participated in Israel's bombing campaign targeting key Iranian nuclear facilities in June.
The US State Department said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr. Rubio also announced that Iran is classified as "sponsoring wrongful arrests", accusing Tehran of decades of detaining US and foreign citizens as political leverage, while leaving open the possibility of applying US passport restrictions related to Iran.
Oman continues its mediating role when sending the Secretary of State to Washington to discuss with US Vice President JD Vance. Senior US defense officials also met at the White House.
