US President says Iran initially wanted talks through intermediaries, but he believes Tehran has shifted its position.
Washington, DC – Donald Trump has suggested that Iran may now be open to direct talks with the United States, despite escalating tensions and mutual threats between the two countries.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the US president expressed optimism about the possibility of face-to-face diplomacy with Tehran.
“I think it’s better if we have direct talks,” he said. “I think it goes faster, and you understand the other side a lot better than if you go through intermediaries. They wanted to use intermediaries. I don’t think that’s necessarily true anymore.”
Last month, Trump sent a letter to Iranian leaders urging negotiations to address Iran’s nuclear program. The US president has also repeatedly threatened Iran with military strikes.
Tehran has rejected the idea of direct talks with Washington but stated it is open to indirect diplomacy.
It remains unclear whether Iran has indeed changed its stance or if Trump is speculating about Tehran’s position.
The US administration has been ramping up sanctions against Iran, aiming to completely cut off the country’s oil exports—particularly to China.
In 2018, during his first term as president, Trump withdrew from a multilateral deal that required Iran to scale back its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions against its economy.
Tehran maintains that it is not seeking a nuclear weapon. Israel, the US’s top ally in the region, is widely believed to possess an undeclared nuclear arsenal.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has pledged to bring “peace” to global conflicts—though he has addressed Iran with a mix of public diplomatic overtures and stern warnings.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” he said last week.
Iranian officials have responded with their own threats, warning that if the country is attacked, it will retaliate against US troops and interests in the Middle East.
“The US must know that, when facing Iran, threats will never achieve anything,” Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last month, according to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency.
“The US and others must know that, if they commit any malicious act against the Iranian nation, they will receive a severe blow.”
However, Tehran’s position in the region appears to have weakened amid the ongoing war in Gaza and beyond.
For example, Israel eliminated the top political and military leadership of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, once a formidable ally of Iran. Iran also lost another key partner after armed opposition groups toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December of last year.
“I think they’re concerned, I think they feel vulnerable, and I don’t want them to feel that way,” Trump said on Thursday, referring to Iran.
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