“This is a losing deal”: Trump sets red line for any deal

ALBAWABA – Tensions between Washington and Tehran have increased in recent days, with developments in U.S.-Iran talks in the past few hours fuelling speculation that the two sides may be close to a preliminary agreement to ease tensions and end the ongoing dispute.

Amid the rumors, U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed on Sunday that he would not accept what he called a “bad deal” with Iran, without revealing details of the pact being negotiated.

“I cannot speak about the deal with Iran at this moment. That is my decision alone,” Trump told ABC News. He added that any statement about a deal with Tehran would be good news.

Trump separately underlined on Truth Social that the new framework is a far cry from the nuclear deal struck under previous President Barack Obama, which he again lambasted as profoundly defective and too generous to Iran.

“The talks with Iran are going very well “The conversations with Iran are going well and orderly and with a lot of good spirit,” Trump said. “I have told my representatives not to rush into an agreement. “We have time on our side.

“It would be a good and proper deal,” he later said, if an agreement is reached, unlike the Obama-era pact, which he said gave Iran massive sums of money and a pathway to nuclear weapons.

Trump also emphasized that the maritime ban on Iran would remain completely in place until any deal is negotiated and properly signed. Relations with Tehran are becoming more professional and constructive but Iran will never be permitted to build or possess a nuclear weapon, he said. 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier in the day had indicated that a statement relating to the Iran dispute could be forthcoming later, after progress made in conjunction with Gulf governments.

Rubio repeated Washington’s stance against any Iranian nuclear weapons capability and claimed technical talks on Iran’s nuclear program are still underway. There has been progress in the last 48 hours in efforts to ease tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, he said, but made clear that the United States would not allow Iran to dominate the crucial waterway.

Any final agreement would mark the start of a bigger process toward Trump’s long-standing goal of a world less anxious about the prospect of an Iranian nuclear bomb, Rubio said. 
 

المصدر: Al Bawaba