Amid negotiations suspended between Iran and the US, as the Omani government informed, US President Donald Trump has said he wants Iran to scrap its nuclear program completely.
During NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Kristen Welker asked President Trump whether he was aiming to limit or completely abolish Iran’s nuclear program.
Trump replied, “Total dismantlement. Yes, that is all I would accept,” He questioned the necessity of the Islamic Republic having nuclear technology for electricity generation.
He further said, “They have so much oil – why do they need it? … Civilian [nuclear] energy often leads to military wars. And we don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple deal.
“I just don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon because the world will be destroyed,” Trump said.
He made his remarks after Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi announced that the fourth round of indirect, mediated US-Iran talks, planned for Saturday, had been postponed indefinitely “for logistical reasons.”
Houthis- a Negotiation Breaker
“The negotiations, previously described by both sides as constructive, have been overshadowed by tensions in Yemen, where the US and Britain have ramped up airstrikes against the Houthi.
Previously this month, The Houthis destroyed a US fighter jet in the Red Sea and also attacked Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate after a Houthi ballistic missile landed near Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv on Sunday, injuring eight people.
The Houthis said they were aiming for a “comprehensive air blockade” of Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. However, Iran refused any direct link with the attack and called the claims “misleading.”
Trump’s Coercive Diplomacy
Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 UN-backed deal on Iran’s nuclear program during his first term in office, accusing the Islamic Republic of secretly violating the agreement. Tehran has denied any wrongdoing but has since rolled back its own commitments under the deal and increased its stockpile of enriched uranium.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned last month that the country would resist any “pressure and threat” from the US.
Notably, the US does not want Iran, an adversary state to the US and its all-time favourite ally Israel, to have a nuclear weapon. Iran’s nuclear capabilities may create a security dilemma in West Asia, and further nuclearization of the region is possible.
In order to deter the Iranians from getting a nuke, Trump has used coercive diplomacy since his first term. After unilaterally withdrawing from the Joint Action Plan of Action (JCPOA), Trump used maximum pressure to make Iran bend to his term.
