Judging by the limited success US President Donald Trump has achieved to date with his recent peace efforts in Gaza and Ukraine, there can be no guarantees that his attempt to open negotiations with Iran over its controversial nuclear programme will deliver the desired results.
With talks due to take place in Oman this weekend between US and Iranian officials, the Trump administration has made it abundantly clear that its main objective in the talks is to limit Tehran’s ability to produce nuclear weapons.
In comments made earlier this week, Trump stressed that his bottom line in entering talks was to end the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear weapons. “You can’t let them have a nuclear weapon”, he told reporters during a White House briefing.
As if to drive home his determination to achieve a ground-breaking deal in the forthcoming talks, the US military is reported to have deployed a significant force of B-2 stealth bombers to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia in what the Iranians will see as a blatant act of intimidation.
Tehran will also have noted that Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—a renowned hawk on Iran’s nuclear ambitions—prior to the talks in Oman. Following his talks with Netanyahu, Trump said both leaders had agreed that “Iran will not have nuclear weapons”, adding the “military option” would come into play if the talks proved unsuccessful.
Aggressive approach
Trump has certainly adopted a highly aggressive tone in advance of the talks, warning that Tehran “is going to be in great danger” if the negotiations do not result in a satisfactory agreement.
Asked directly whether the deployment of stealth bombers meant the US was preparing to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities if no deal was forthcoming, Trump replied: "Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and if the talks aren't successful I actually think it will be a very bad day for Iran if that's the case.”
Ahead of the Oman talks, Washington issued fresh sanctions against Iran, with the US Treasury Department saying it had imposed sanctions on five Iran-based entities and one person based in Iran for their support of Iran's nuclear programme with the aim of denying Tehran a nuclear weapon.
"The Iranian regime's reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons remains a grave threat to the United States and a menace to regional stability and global security," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement.
