Iran is considering proposing an interim nuclear deal with the U.S. as a means to buy more time than the two-month deadline set by President Donald Trump, Axios reported Thursday.
Trump on Wednesday repeated his threat to use military force if Iran did not agree to end its nuclear program. Trump set the two-month deadline in a letter last month to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran, however, does not think two months is enough time to put together a comprehensive deal, according to the report.
"The Iranians seem to believe that a sustainable deal is unlikely to be achieved in the timeframe that President Trump has in mind. It might therefore be necessary to consider an interim agreement as a way station toward a final deal," Ali Vaez, director of the Iran project at the International Crisis Group, told Axios.
Trump announced earlier this week that direct talks with Iran would begin Saturday. Iran then announced the talks will take place in Oman between White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and mediated by Oman's foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi.
Trump has said at various points that "there will be bombing" if Iran doesn't make the deal, or perhaps tariffs.
"When you start talks, you know pretty quickly whether they're going well or not. So the conclusion would be — when I feel they're not going well," Trump told reporters Wednesday. "But if it requires military, we're going to have military. Israel will obviously be very involved in that — maybe even lead it. But nobody leads us. We do what we want to do," he added.
"I'm not asking for much ... but they can't have a nuclear weapon," he said.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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