Trump: Iran Wants a Deal More Than I Do to Avoid a U.S. Strike

Middle East News Network: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Iran “wants to make a deal to avoid a U.S. military strike more than I do,” but it has not explicitly declared its willingness to abandon the development of nuclear weapons.
The statement came during a lunch with anchors and correspondents ahead of the State of the Union address. Most of the remarks were off the record and were made in the context of escalating tensions with Tehran amid an increased U.S. military presence in the region.
This comes as Israeli security and political officials said that talks between Washington and Tehran will not lead to a breakthrough and that an attack on Iran is only a matter of time.
In this regard, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that there is an assessment in Israel that a U.S. attack on Iran is “inevitable,” that escalation is only a matter of time, and that negotiations between Tehran and Washington will not yield positive results.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran is courageously defending its sovereignty and, with the same courage, will go to the negotiating table with the United States.
Araghchi stated that Iran will resume, based on the understandings reached in the previous round, talks with the United States in Geneva with firm determination to reach a fair and equitable agreement as soon as possible.
The foreign minister explained that Iran’s fundamental positions and convictions are absolutely clear: under no circumstances will Iran seek to develop a nuclear weapon. At the same time, the Iranian people will never relinquish their right to benefit from peaceful nuclear technology to serve their nation.
Araghchi added that there is now a historic opportunity to reach an unprecedented agreement that addresses mutual concerns and secures shared interests, noting that an agreement is possible—but only if diplomacy is given priority.
Source:cnn