US President Donald Trump on Monday stressed the importance of the talks with Iran, scheduled to take place in Geneva on Tuesday, adding that he will be indirectly involved.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said Iran wants to make a deal and added that he hopes the Islamic Republic acts reasonably.
“I’ll be involved in those talks indirectly, and they’ll be very important. We’ll see what can happen. But typically, Iran’s a very tough negotiator,” said the President.
“I would say they’re bad negotiators, because we could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s in to knock out their nuclear potential, and we had to send the B-2s. I hope they’re going to be more reasonable. They want to make a deal,” he continued.
Responding to a reporter who asked whether he thinks a deal is next to impossible, Trump stated, “No, no. I think they want to make a deal.I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal. They want to make a deal.”
Tuesday’s talks in Geneva will involve Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and are expected to once again be mediated by Omani officials, similar to the first round of talks recently held in Muscat.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, arrived in Geneva on Sunday, leading a diplomatic and technical delegation for the second round of talks with US.
Also on Sunday, an Iranian diplomat said Iran is seeking a nuclear agreement with the United States that would provide economic gains for both countries.
As preparations for talks continue, the US has also increased its military presence in the Middle East.
On Friday, senior officials in the Trump administration told the New York Times that Trump has not yet decided whether he would strike Iran.
Three US officials told the newspaper that the options Trump has been weighing include military action targeting Iran’s nuclear program and ability to launch ballistic missiles.
The President is also considering options that would include sending American commandos to go after certain Iranian military targets, the officials said.
Also on Friday, Trump was asked by reporters about his decision to deploy the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier to the Middle East, in addition to the USS Abraham Lincoln which is already in the region.
The aircraft carrier was sent “in case we don’t make a deal, we’ll need it. If we don’t have a deal, we’ll need it. We have one out there that just arrived. If we need it, we have it ready. A big, a very big force,” said Trump.
Asked how confident he is that the negotiations with Iran will be successful, the President replied, “I think they’ll be successful, and if they’re not, it’s going to be a bad day for Iran, very bad.”
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