Washington, DC [US], February 17 (HBTV): Reaffirming his hardline stance towards Tehran, United States President Donald Trump issued a stern warning about the ‘consequences of not making a deal’ ahead of diplomatic negotiations scheduled to take place in Geneva.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, the President confirmed his participation in the high-stakes summit, noting that he would engage in the process ‘indirectly’.
Trump described the upcoming discussions as ‘very important’, acknowledging that while Iran is a ‘tough negotiator’, he believes its leadership has proven to be ‘bad negotiators, as we could have had a deal instead of sending out B-2s to knock out their nuclear potential’.
The remarks come in the wake of recent military action, which Trump credited with shifting the geopolitical landscape and forcing a return to diplomacy.
He expressed hope that the Iranian leadership would be ‘more reasonable’ moving forward, asserting that economic and political pressures are pushing the country back to the negotiating table. ‘They want to make a deal. We have peace in the Middle East,’ he said.
Addressing regional stability, Trump acknowledged the possibility of localised friction but maintained that the broader objective of security had been achieved through military force.
‘You will see some flames here and there, but we essentially have peace in the Middle East. That happened because we did a B-2 attack on the nuclear potential,’ he stated.
Trump further defended the recent military intervention, referred to as ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’, during which US forces targeted three primary nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
He claimed that without the operation, Tehran ‘would have had a nuclear weapon within one month’, adding that ‘if that happened, it would have been a whole different deal’.
The escalation follows the collapse of earlier diplomatic efforts.
Iran and the United States held rounds of nuclear talks in April 2025 in Muscat, Oman, and Rome, Italy. However, the situation changed significantly on June 21-22, 2025, when the United States carried out strikes against Iranian nuclear infrastructure under ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’, targeting the sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
Iran strongly condemned the strikes at the time, calling them a violation of international law and the UN Charter.
Despite the military confrontation, both nations are expected to return to the negotiating table for the next round of talks over the nuclear deal on Tuesday (local time) in Geneva, Switzerland, CNN reported.
According to CNN, US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to attend the meetings to represent American interests in the latest diplomatic effort.
(ANI)