President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he is ‘not happy’ with the way Iran is negotiating.
‘I’m not happy with the fact that they’re not willing to give us what we have to have. So I’m not thrilled with that. We’ll see what happens, we’re talking later. We’ll have some additional talks today. But, no, I’m not happy with the way they’re going,’ Trump said.
The president also told reporters that he had yet to make a final decision on striking Iran, something that many have speculated could occur in the near future.
When answering a question from Fox News’ Peter Doocy, Trump acknowledged that if the U.S. strikes Iran, there is a possibility of a long-term conflict sparking in the Middle East.
‘I guess you could say there’s always a risk. You know, when there’s war, there’s a risk in anything both good and bad,’ Trump said.
The president then spoke about operations against Iran under his first and second terms, such as the assassination of Gen. Qassim Soleimani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force, and last summer’s Operation Midnight Hammer. He said that ‘everything’s worked out’ so far.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have escalated, even as the two sides take part in indirect nuclear negotiations. The president on Feb. 19 gave Iran a deadline of roughly 10 to 15 days to reach an agreement, and during his State of the Union address, he underscored that his urgency to make a deal was backed by force.
‘I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror… to have a nuclear weapon,’ he said on Tuesday.
‘We are in negotiations with them,’ Trump added. ‘They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words: ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump has repeatedly threatened major consequences in the event that the U.S. and Iran are unable to strike a deal.
While the president said he had not made a decision on the strikes, the State Department appeared to be acting out of caution on Friday as it authorized all non-essential employees at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem to leave Israel. While the warning issued by the embassy did not mention Iran by name, it referenced ‘increased regional tensions.’