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Trump says a nuclear deal is close: ‘Israel must not attack Iran’

Middle East spokesman Steve Witkoff plans a sixth round of negotiations Sunday in Oman with Iran.

President Donald Trump talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at The White House.

President Donald Trump talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at The White House.AFP.

Diane Hernández
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Diane Hernández

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President Donald Trump on Thursday called on Israel to refrain from attacking Iran's nuclear facilities because Washington is "close" to reaching an agreement on Tehran's nuclear program.

The Republican leader acknowledged that the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is weighing an attack, which, he said, could trigger a "massive conflict." For this reason, a decision was made to reduce U.S. diplomatic personnel in the region.

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"We're pretty close to a good agreement," Trump told reporters. "I don't want them to intervene, because I think that would screw it up," he specified, referring to Israel. "It could actually help, but it could also ruin it," he quickly added.

New round of nuclear negotiations in Oman

Trump's Middle East spokesman, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to hold a sixth round of negotiations Sunday in Oman with Iran, which insists it can increase production of enriched uranium, the main sticking point in the talks.

Trump again described himself as a man of peace and said he would prefer a negotiated settlement.

"I would love to avoid conflict. Iran is going to have to negotiate a little harder, meaning it's going to have to give us some things it's not willing to give us now," he warned.

On whether Israel could attack Iran, Trump replied, "I don't want to say it's imminent, but it seems like it's something that could happen."

Iran denies it is close to "the nuclear bomb"

Both the U.S. and Israel, and several Western powers, have for years accused Iran of wanting to equip itself with the atomic bomb, which Tehran strongly denies, claiming that its program is merely civilian.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced Thursday that the head of the local atomic organization issued "the necessary orders" to "launch a new uranium enrichment center, in a secure location."

Iran will also replace all its first-generation uranium centrifuges with sixth-generation devices at the Fordow enrichment center south of Tehran, Iranian atomic agency spokesman Behruz Kamalvandi said.
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