No nuclear talks unless Israel stops attack, says Iran
No nuclear talks unless Israel stops attack, says Iran
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghch says Tehran would not resume negotiations with the United States until Israel stopped its attacks. Photo: Reuters
Iran said on Friday it would not discuss the future of its nuclear programme while under attack by Israel, as Europe tried to coax Tehran back into negotiations and the United States considers whether to get involved in the conflict.
A week into its campaign, Israel said it had struck dozens of military targets, including missile production sites, a research body it said was involved in nuclear weapons development in Tehran and military facilities in western and central Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said there was no room for negotiations with the US "until Israeli aggression stops".
But he later arrived in Geneva for talks with European foreign ministers at which Europe hopes to establish a path back to diplomacy.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday he was unlikely to press Israel to scale back its airstrikes to allow negotiations to continue.
"I think it's very hard to make that request right now. If somebody is winning, it's a little bit harder to do than if somebody is losing, but we're ready, willing and able, and we've been speaking to Iran, and we'll see what happens," he said.
Speaking to reporters after his plane landed in Morristown, New Jersey, Trump said he doubted European negotiators would be able to secure a ceasefire.
"Iran doesn't want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help in this one," Trump said.
Trump also said that Iran had a "maximum" of two weeks to avoid possible US air strikes, indicating he could take a decision before the fortnight deadline he set a day earlier.
"I'm giving them a period of time, and I would say two weeks would be the maximum," Trump told reporters when asked if he could decide to strike Iran before that.
Trump had said in a statement on Thursday that he would "make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks" because there was a "substantial chance of negotiations" with Iran.
Those comments had been widely seen as opening a two-week window for negotiations to end the war between Israel and Iran.
But his latest remarks indicated Trump could still make his decision before that if he feels that there has been no progress towards dismantling Iran's nuclear program.
On Friday, Trump again disagreed with his own national intelligence director, Tulsi Gabbard, by insisting that Iran does have the capability to build a nuclear weapon.
"She's wrong," Trump said.
Gabbard testified to Congress in March that the US intelligence community continued to judge that Tehran was not working on a nuclear warhead. (Agencies)
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Asia Times
an hour ago
- Asia Times
Who are Iran's true allies and will they help if US joins the war?
As Israel continues its attacks on Iran, US President Donald Trump and other global leaders are hardening their stance against the Islamic Republic. While considering a US attack on Iran's nuclear sites, Trump has threatened Iran's supreme leader, claiming to know his location and calling him 'an easy target.' He has demanded 'unconditional surrender' from Iran. Meanwhile, countries such as Germany, Canada, the UK and Australia have toughened their rhetoric, demanding Iran fully abandon its nuclear program. So, as the pressure mounts on Iran, has it been left to fight alone? Or does it have allies that could come to its aid? Has Iran's 'axis of resistance' fully collapsed? Iran has long relied on a network of allied paramilitary groups across the Middle East as part of its deterrence strategy. This approach has largely shielded it from direct military strikes by the US or Israel, despite constant threats and pressure. This so-called 'axis of resistance' includes groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Iraq, the Houthi militants in Yemen, as well as Hamas in Gaza, which has long been under Iran's influence to varying degrees. Iran also supported Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria before it was toppled last year. Members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) carry images of comrades killed in US airstrikes in western Iraq in 2024. Photo: Ahmed Jalil / EPA via The Conversation These groups have served both as a regional buffer and as a means for Iran to project power without direct engagement. However, over the past two years, Israel has dealt significant blows to the network. Hezbollah — once Iran's most powerful non-state ally — has been effectively neutralised after months of attacks by Israel. Its weapons stocks were systematically targeted and destroyed across Lebanon. And the group suffered a major psychological and strategic loss with the assassination of its most influential leader, Hassan Nasrallah. In Syria, Iranian-backed militias have been largely expelled following the fall of Assad's regime, stripping Iran of another key foothold in the region. That said, Iran maintains strong influence in Iraq and Yemen. The PMF in Iraq, with an estimated 200,000 fighters, remains formidable. The Houthis have similarly-sized contingent of fighters in Yemen. Should the situation escalate into an existential threat to Iran — as the region's only Shiite-led state — religious solidarity could drive these groups to become actively involved. This would rapidly expand the war across the region. The PMF, for instance, could launch attacks on the 2,500 US troops stationed in Iraq. 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This is due to Iran's long-standing 'Look East' policy and the impact its instability could have on the region and the global economy. However, at the current stage, many analysts believe both are unlikely to get involved directly. Moscow stayed on the sidelines when Assad's regime collapsed in Syria, one of Russia's closest allies in the region. Not only is it focused on its war in Ukraine, Russia also wouldn't want to endanger improving ties with the Trump administration. China has offered Iran strong rhetorical support, but history suggests it has little interest in getting directly involved in Middle Eastern conflicts. Ali Mamouri is research fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Asia Times
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Trump's unpredictable approach to Iran could seriously backfire
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In the case of Iran, adding even more uncertainty to a fragile situation will only add fuel to what is already a massive fire. Trump's refusal to specify exactly what the US response would be is more proverbial petrol. The insinuation that this could escalate to regime change may be true or not (or just unpredictable bluster). It's also the case that only 14% of Americans support military intervention and so a more aggressive policy may not be realistic. But if Iran is led to think that Trump is directly threatening their state, this could encourage them to hunker down as opposed to changing their nuclear policy – risking greater military action on both sides. Donald Trump is being unclear about whether the US is going to bomb Iran. Even just the implicit threat of US military intervention will damage what little relations there are between America and Iran. 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2 hours ago
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Iran, Israel launch new attacks after Tehran rules out nuclear talks
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