U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iran, which has faced aerial bombardment from Israel, to engage in nuclear agreements. Trump said to ABC News that the Israeli strike on Iran was 'excellent' and remarked, 'They took a very hard hit, and there’s more to come.'
On the 13th (local time), Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, that 'Iran must complete a nuclear deal before there is nothing left and must protect what was once called the Persian Empire.'
The U.S. and Iran have been continuing nuclear negotiations but have yet to reach an agreement. The U.S. demands that Iran completely dismantle its nuclear program, while Iran is demanding the immediate lifting of all economic sanctions. Iran has plans to continue producing low-enriched uranium for power generation instead of developing nuclear weapons.
The U.S. and Iran were scheduled to meet for talks in Oman on the 15th to mediate the nuclear negotiations. Israel, anticipating that the U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations would collapse, conducted airstrikes early that morning to prevent Iran from having time to develop nuclear weapons. Following the attacks, Iran notified that it would not participate in the nuclear negotiations.
In another post on social media, Trump stated, 'Two months ago, I gave Iran 60 days to reach an agreement, and they should have done that. I told them what to do, but they did not comply. Perhaps Iran will get a second chance.'