President Donald Trump said Friday it would be "very hard" to ask Israel to halt strikes on Iran for the purpose of appeasing the Iranians to continue negotiations.
Trump was reacting to comments made by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier in the day. Araghchi said there was "no room" for talks amid Israel's "aggression." A reporter asked Trump if he would ask Israel to halt strikes.
"I think it is very hard to make that request right now," Trump told reporters in Morristown, New Jersey. "If someone is winning, it's a little bit harder to do than if someone is losing. But we are ready, willing, and able, and have been speaking to Iran, and we'll see what happens."
Israel flies with impunity over Iran after taking out their anti-aircraft defense capabilities at the outset of Iran's offensive last week. Israel has not targeted Iran's nuclear reactors, instead focusing its strikes on the country's uranium enrichment sites — including the country's main enrichment site at Natanz, centrifuge workshops around Tehran, and a nuclear site in Isfahan.
Trump also gave his reasoning for taking two weeks to make a decision on his next move regarding the conflict between the countries, now having eclipsed a week.
"Just time to see whether or not people come to their senses is all it is," Trump told reporters.
He also dismissed the talks that took place Friday in Geneva between Araghchi and his counterparts from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
"Iran doesn't wanna speak to Europe, they wanna speak to us. Europe is not gonna be able to help in this one," he said.
Trump flew into New Jersey on Friday on his way to his golf club in Bedminster. It was reported Thursday that he was set to receive intelligence briefings on Iran before he left and again over the weekend after returning to the White House.
Trump is reportedly taking two weeks to decide whether to bomb Fordow, a fuel enrichment plant near Qom, the nuclear site roughly 300 feet underground. Trump has already been briefed on the pros and cons of bombing Iran's most secure nuclear site, according to the report.
Trump has discussed using bunker-buster bombs to neutralize the site's capabilities, according to reports.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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